Life Changes
by Shbenj
Summary: James deflates his ego and allows Lily to see the side of him that only his friends see. When bonds form between their friends, that can only get closer, they will be drawn to one another. LJ ROC SOC, 7th Year. HAS BEEN REWRITTEN, now under Vita Mutationes -Life Changes
1. Chapter 1

**This story is dedicated to: **Cam, Ella, Lys, Ellen and Nura**  
**

**1**

Nura Sheidaee opened the door to find James Potter and Sirius Black on the door step, Sirius leaning against the wall casually, brushing a lock of hair out of his eyes, while James was sitting on the rail, one eyebrow raised in amusement. She grinned, rolling her eyes, and stepped aside, allowing her oldest friend and his adoptive brother into the house.

It was the beginning of the last two weeks of the summer holidays, September 1st approaching, and the three teenagers longed to be back at school, Hogwarts, where they would be facing their final year. The summer, while freeing them of teachers and homework, separated them from their dorm mates and brought a wave of boredom.

'So what's going on Nunu?' asked James, using his childhood nickname for her, a nickname which drove her insane. She glared at him, managing to look fierce, even though she was several inches shorter than his 6 foot 1. While glaring at him, she noticed how he had changed over the summer. He had grown 2 inches taller, and moved with less cockiness and more… grace, making it seem as though he thought about where to place each step carefully in the short amount of time that it left the ground. He still had the same black hair that stuck up all over the place, which he encouraged, and the same twinkling hazel eyes hidden behind his wire-framed glasses.

'Don't call me Nunu, James, you know I hate it.'

'Oh, he knows, that's why he does it,' replied Sirius, sweeping Nura into a friendly hug. Sirius Black lived at the Potters house, and had done so since the summer before 5th Year, after being unable to ignore the numerous insults that were thrown at him, about himself and his friends. Looking at him now, she noticed the changes he had gone through as well. His locks of black hair had grown longer, so they occasionally fell into his eyes. He too had grown an inch, and was now 6 feet tall, only an inch shorter than James, but with a slightly more muscled build. His grey eyes shone with confidence, as did his stance.

'So Nura, have you worked up the courage to ask our dear friend Moony out?' questioned James, referring to another of his dorm mates, Remus Lupin. Together, James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew made a group named the Marauders. Nura rolled her eyes and ignored the question. Together the three of them walked up the stairs to Nura's room to try to beat the boredom back with planning, teasing, laughing and just talking. As the two hours mark passed, Seruh, Nura's mother came up with a worried expression on her face.

'James, your father just flooed. You and Sirius need to get home right away.' The two best friends paled, and arose quickly, Nura joining them. As the two young men walked the short distance returning them to their house, located at the other end of the street, Nura stood on her front porch, her dark brown hair moving slightly in the breeze, pale brown skin, showing ancestry from eastern Asia, glowing in the afternoon sun, and deep brown eyes letting her worry be easily known to the world.

* * *

On the morning of her birthday, Lily Evan's untied the strings that held her post to the two official looking owls sitting on her desk. Once the letter was untied, the brown barn owl flew off without hesitation, leaving a grey barn owl behind. The grey bird held its leg out obediently while Lily concentrated on the tangle of string that someone must have decided would do as a knot. Once the newspaper was removed, Lily placed a few bronze Knuts in the pouch and allowed the owl to glide out the window. 

Lily glanced at the newspaper before throwing it on her bed, the headline of _Dark Mark Appears Again_ putting her off. She sighed, and carefully opening her Hogwarts letter, smiled fondly at the green ink that signified a new year of school. Lily tipped the envelope upside down, and gasped. Sitting on her bed, next too three pieces of parchment, a ticket and the newspaper, was a shiny red and gold badge with HG written over it. She admired it for a moment, and then picked up the pieces of parchment. The top piece was just the usual letter telling her that the term started September first and that her book list was attached. The second piece was the book list itself, but the third piece is what interested her. It was a letter outlining her Head Girl duties.

_Dear Miss Evans, _

_As your Head of House, I am pleased to name you Head Girl for the following year. This is a great honor, and you expected to treat it as such, and fulfill your duties. You will be required to patrol the corridors twice a week with the Head Boy, on Wednesdays and Saturdays, attend prefect meetings, organize the school dances and Hogsmeade weekends and set a good example for all students._

_In addition, you are able to deduct house points and give detentions for any breaking of the school rules, and you get a private common room, dorm and bathroom which you share with the Head Boy._

_Happy Holidays,_

_Professor McGonagall_

With a calm smile on her face, Lily walked down the stairs, into the dining room, where her mother and father sat at the oak table, sipping their tea as if there wasn't a small pile of brightly colored birthday presents in the centre.

'Morning Mum, morning Dad.' They both smiled up at her, and stood up to embrace her.

'Happy Birthday Flower,' said her father, Richard, pulling her into a bear hug. He was 6 foot 3 and had a solid build, as well as the emerald green eyes that lily had inherited, and brown hair.

'Happy Birthday Lily,' said her mother, Sarah, wrapping her arms around her husband and daughter. She had warm brown eyes and red hair that ran in soft waves all the way down her back. Apart from her eyes, Lily looked exactly like her mother, both 5 feet and 4 inches tall. 'When are your friends arriving?'

'Alice and Claire are arriving around 11, and Nura should be here in about 20 minutes,' said Lily, stepping out of her fathers embrace and sitting in the chair closest to her. Sarah moved into the kitchen to make some breakfast while Richard sat down and watched his daughter begin to unwrap her presents. From her mother and father, she got a gold watch, with an etching of a lily on the face. From her sister, Petunia, she got a few cheap hair ties, and from her grandparents, she received some hand-knitted gloves, and, surprisingly, a book labeled _Animagi_ with a note from her grandfather saying he found it in a cardboard box and thought she might enjoy it, although it seemed he thought it to be a fictional book.

Nura arrived with three gifts, one from her, one from James, and one from Sirius. Lily opened Nura's first, and found a box full of Honeydukes chocolate. She laughed, and hugged her best friend, before opening the small package from James. On the top was a note, which she read first.

_Happy Birthday_

_Congratulations_

_Sorry_

_From James_

_P.S. beware Sirius's gift_

Lily raised an eyebrow at Nura, who motioned for her to open the box. Inside was a silver necklace with a small gold lily hanging off it, matching her new watch. Nura smiled at her friend confusion, and elaborated.

'He told me it was a congratulations on getting Head Girl and sorry about harassing you all those years,' she said this with a laugh, and then sobered up, her expression growing grim. 'I'm worried about him Lily, when he delivered it this morning, he didn't smile once. In fact, he barely looked at me.' Lily was surprised at this, but pushed it aside, after all, Potter wasn't exactly her friend.

'What does he mean 'beware Sirius's gift'? What has Black done this time?' Nura shrugged, and handed the parcel over. Lily unwrapped it, and found a small box, about the size of one use to hold a ring. However, when Lily opened it, a lion's roar shook her house. Lily slammed the box shut, and Sarah and Richard rushed into the hallway to find Nura doubled over laughing and Lily scowling at a box in her palm.


	2. Chapter 2

**This story is dedicated to: **Cam, Ella, Lys, Ellen and Nura**  
**

**2**

Lily opened the front door, finding her two other dorm mates. Alice Abbott was glancing warily up and down the street; her brown hair held back by a hair tie and blue eyes, hidden to Lily, showing a calm alertness, making her appear ready for anything. She was standing comfortably, back to the door, with her hand casually in her pocket, no doubt wrapped around a wand.

Watching her friend in amusement was Claire Adrea, leaning lazily against the wall. Hearing the door open, she turned towards Lily and smiled, brushing a few blonde hairs out of her face as she did so. Her grey eyes, often showing sarcasm, now bore joy. Talking to Claire could be a trying experience, as she was often blunt, and it took some time to adjust to her dry sense of humor.

'Hey Lils, how are you?' asked Alice, turning to hug her friend. She was an inch taller than her friend, making her 5 feet 5 inches. She let go and allowed Claire to take her place.

'I'm good, and both of you?' she asked.

'We're good,' said Claire, stepping back and speaking for both of them. 'Now, are you going to let us in, or is the sleepover going to be held on your doorstep?'

* * *

'So, what are you going to do about Remus?' It was the day after Lily's birthday, and Alice and Claire had just gone home. Nura, who was presently blushing at Lily's question, was spending the rest of the week at Lily's house. 

'I don't know… I mean, I like him, but I'm not sure if he likes me.' At this Lily rolled her eyes. She was sitting on the window ledge, one of her legs dangling over the two story fall. Nura was sitting on Lily's bed cross legged, picking feathers out of the downy pillow beside her.

'Oh, please, it's obvious that he does like you. You should see the way he looks at you when he thinks no one is looking.' Nura smiled.

'James happens to agree with you, Lily.'

'Honestly, Nura, I don't know how you can be friends with him. He's arrogant, self-centered, annoying and then there's that bully thing.'

'Yes, he is all of those at times, but he's also loyal, brave, intelligent, good looking, and will stick up for his friends. And you'd be surprised at the danger he puts himself in for his friends.'

'Oh yeah, like what?' Lily asked, her eyes filled with skepticism.

'That's not my secret to tell,' said Nura mysteriously. She fell back onto the pillow, causing a handful of feathers to fly into the air through the hole she had made. 'Anyway, what _you_ think I should do about Remus?'

'Just walk up and snog him.' Nura's head shot up from where she was watching the pillows threads wiggle back together because of a flick of a wand. She looked at Lily with shock, a little colour disappearing from her face. 'Or not,' Lily laughed.

Just then, an owl flew through the window carrying the Evening Prophet. Lily's giggles subsided as she paid the owl and read the headline. She sat down and opened the paper, Nura reading over her shoulder.

'Two families were attacked. One was Muggle and one was Pure-blood. He's attacking Pure-bloods now?' questioned Lily.

'Who was it?'

'Ummm, the two Prewett sons, Gideon and Fabian it says here. I thought he only attacked Muggles and Muggle-borns.'

'The Prewett's are one of the families who work against Voldemort. The others are the Abbott's, Alice's family, the Longbottom's, the Lovegood's, the Weasley's, my family, and James's,' Nura explained. 'Out of that list, the Potter's are the most active, and despise the Dark Arks the most.'

Lily nodded and continued reading. Fifteen minutes later, she sighed and put down the paper, and, after sending a quick glance at Nura, muttered something about needing a shower. Nura, who was writing a letter, mumbled a reply that sounded vaguely like an okay.

Lily grabbed some fresh underwear, an oversized t-shirt and some boxer shorts on her way to the bathroom, shutting the door behind her and locking it. Wearily, after placing her nightwear on the toilet, she laid the bathmat in front of the shower stall, and opened the door, turning on the water quickly. While steam slowly filled the room she pulled her shirt over her head, and dropped her jeans. Tiredly, she reached behind her and unclasped her bra, removing her underwear and lastly socks.

Sighing again, she stepped into the rush of water pouring from the shower head, enjoying it flow over her back. After adjusting the water to her preferred temperature, she leaned her forehead against the stall door and closed her eyes.

She was about to start her last year of Hogwarts, in less than a week. She could see all her friends properly, for longer than a night. She could have Charms again, and Defense Against the Dark Arts, her two favorite and best scoring classes. She was going to be Head Girl. She smiled and reached behind her and found the shampoo.

When she stepped out of the shower, she wrapped a towel around her and stepped in front of the fogged up mirror. She wiped it down, and stared at her reflection for several moments, letting her mind fall blank, before drying herself off. After pulling on her nightwear, she looked at the mirror again and let her thoughts wander. Soon they reached the topic of the necklace James Potter had given to her. James Potter. She only had to deal with him for one more year. _At least he's handsome_ she thought, before giving a small smile and mentally chastising herself.


	3. Chapter 3

**This story is dedicated to: **Cam, Ella, Lys, Ellen and Nura**  
**

**3**

Lily stood in front of the Head's compartment on the Hogwarts Express, smiling to herself. She was Head Girl; her years of work had paid off. Feeling proud of herself, she slid the door open, and walked in. The first thing her eyes were drawn to was the student sitting in one of the seats, staring out the window.

'Potter?' James didn't glance at Lily when he answered, just continued to watch the countryside pass by.

'Hey Lily,' James greeted.

'What are you doing here?' she asked. This time, James looked at her very briefly, before turning back to the window.

'I'm Head Boy.' he answered, indifferently. Lily finally sat down, taking the seat opposite him. Looking at him closely, she noticed something different.

_'…He didn't smile once. In fact, he barely looked at me'._ Nura's words replayed through her head, and she understood what Nura had meant. Not once had he ruffled his hair, or made a joke.

'How are you?' James' question pierced her thoughts, bringing her back to the present.

'I'm okay, had a nice summer. Nura spent the last week at my house, which I believe you know. Thank you for the gift, it was very… sweet.' James nodded, and Lily became confused. This wasn't the James Potter that annoyed her more than should be humanly possible, the James that asked her out at least three times a day, or the one that hung Snape upside-down for all to see.

_'I'm worried about him Lily…'_ Once again Nura's words replayed through her head.

'What about you, how are you?' she asked.

'Fine.' Lily raised an eyebrow at his, but before she could press the issue there was a knock on the door. Lily answered it to find Remus Lupin standing in the corridor.

'The prefects are all in the compartment now, they're waiting for you. Congratulations, by the way, for getting Head Girl.'

'Thanks Remus.' Lily gave him a quick hug, as he was the one marauder whom she easily got along with, and set off towards the prefects' compartment, Remus interrogating James in whispers while they followed.

When they arrived in the compartment, the whispers subsided, the prefects looking up at them from around the table. Remus took his position next to Alice, who was the other 7th year Gryffindor prefect, leaving James and Lily standing side by side at the head of the table.

'Welcome to another year of Hogwarts. I am Lily Evans, Head Girl, and this is James Potter, Head boy.' James nodded his head at his name, but remained silent. 'These are the passwords to your common rooms, you are to tell no one but members of your house these.' As she passed the Slytherins their password, Snape muttered softly, calling her a mudblood, meaning for only her to hear. Choosing to ignore him, Lily glanced up, and saw that both Remus and James were scowling at Snape. Somehow they had both heard his whispered insult, despite the fact that no one else had, and they were on the other side of the table. This is when James decided to speak up and address the rest of the room.

'You have been selected as prefects because you are deemed to be responsible enough to hold this position. If you are found abusing your power, or disrespecting a teacher, Lily or myself, you will be immediately stripped of your position. You are expected to uphold all of the rules. You are dismissed.'

With that, James turned on his heel and walked out of the compartment, leaving everyone in shock.

* * *

Lily walked into the compartment with Alice, finding Claire losing spectacularly to Nura at Wizard's chess. Sighing, she dropped onto one of the seats and closed her eyes. 

'Tough meeting Lils?' said Claire, watching her rook get smashed into dust by Nura's queen. All of Claire's pieces were quivering with fear; some pawns were trying to run away, only to be roughly prodded back into their places.

'Not really, I'm just tired. Nura thought it would be smart to stay up until 4 in the morning the day before school starts.' Alice looked incredulously at their usually sensible friend, who just shrugged.

'It's funny watching Lily try to stay awake.' At this Claire and Alice burst out laughing and Lily scowled. The trip was peaceful for about 20 minutes, until there was a knock on the door. Just as they were about to shout for the knocker to wait, as they were halfway through getting changed into their school uniform, it slid open, and in walked Sirius Black.

'Hello hello girls, what are you all up- whoa…' Sirius stopped in mid sentence, and looked around at the semi-undressed girls, his grin becoming more pronounced. Then all the girls let out a shriek, filled with mingled surprise, anger, and embarrassment.

'Sirius, what's going on?' James called from out of the corridor, before he stepped into the compartment. His eyes widened as he saw what was going on inside the compartment, before he shut them tight, and dragged a protesting Sirius out of the compartment, muttering apologies.


	4. Chapter 4

**This story is dedicated to: **Cam, Ella, Lys, Ellen and Nura**  
**

**4**

Lily slid the door open and determinedly looked at the floor, avoiding looking Sirius or James in the face. Sirius passed her with a snicker, making her blush, and Remus and Peter passed with confused looks, wondering what had happened a minute ago. James stepped in front of her and placed two fingers under her chin, lifting her head so she looked him in the eye, and smiled.

'Come on,' he whispered softly, and led her into the compartment, her face bright red. Remus had taken Claire's seat, and was currently starting a new chess game with Nura. Claire had taken a seat next to Nura, with Peter next to her and Sirius opposite her, whom she was talking to. Alice had gone off to find her boyfriend Frank Longbottom, who was a 7th year Ravenclaw, and a close friend of the Marauders. This left one seat, next to the window. James and Lily glanced at each other, and James motioned for Lily to take it. When she sat down, he placed himself on the floor close to her, his back against the wall of the compartment.

'So Lily-Billy did you like your birthday present?' asked Sirius, pausing his conversation with Claire for the time being. Lily turned away from the window and scowled at him.

'You prat, that wasn't funny. My parents thought that there was a real lion in the house.' Sirius let out a bark- like laugh, and Claire raised her eyebrow quizzically at Lily. Scowling, Lily reached up and pulled the box out from her trunk, and silently handed it over to Claire. Claire opened it, and the lion's roar filled the compartment. Claire laughed while she snapped the box shut and turned to Sirius.

'Wow, how did you get such a good recording of our dear Lily's snoring?' Sirius let out another bark like laugh, and Nura giggled softly. Glaring at Claire, Lily picked up one of Nura's pawns and threw it at her so-called friend.

* * *

When Alice re-entered the compartment, she found Nura and Remus still in a chess match, although Remus was watching Nura instead on the game board when she wasn't looking. Looking closely, Alice noticed that he had changed drastically from the boy she had dated in 4th year, and even from the young man that had waved goodbye to them at the end of 6th year. His brown hair had grown long, just passing his neck, and he wore it tied back at the base of his skull, except for a few threads that had escaped and continuously fell into his eyes. His eyes were amber in colour, and drew your attention right away. His jaw had grown more defined, and Alice judged he was about 5 foot 11, but wasn't sure as he was sitting. She turned her gaze to the rest of the compartment. 

Peter was reading the Charms book assigned for the year, his nose wrinkled in confusion. Sirius and Claire were playing footsies, occasionally kicking Peter on accident, at which he would look up and glare at them before returning to his book. Peter was a person of pure confusion to Alice, as she never understood why he was one of the Marauders. In first year, he had been this scared, unconfident little boy who stood up to no-one. He hadn't had any particular talents, and wasn't attractive. After six years of companionship with Remus, James and Sirius though, he had changed. He had grown some confidence, and spoke his mind more. He had watery blue eyes, and a slightly pointed face, dirty blonde hair, and only stood 5 foot 5. He wasn't exactly unattractive anymore, but he wasn't handsome either.

Turning her gaze to the seat opposite Peter, she saw Lily looking down at James with a confused expression on her face. James himself was still sitting on the floor, now asleep, resting his head Lily's lap. There was no expression on his face, but flickering eyelids and an occasional twitch showed that he wasn't enjoying whatever dream held his mind. Feeling eyes on her, Lily looked up at Alice. Her face showed worry for a moment before it was replaced with a mask of calm. Gently, she slid out from under James's head, sat down next to him, and motioned for Alice to take her seat.

* * *

'Abbott, Henry.' Alice watched her brother closely as he sat down on the stool and placed the patched hat on his head. There was silence for a moment before the hats' shout of 'HUFFLEPUFF!' rang out across the hall. Henry made his way over to the table full of his new house members, but waved at his sister on the way. 

Throughout the sorting, Remus and Nura swapped between talking to each other and watching the ceremony, Peter kept looking at his watch and glaring at the empty food dishes, Claire and Sirius teased each other, and James, Lily and Alice held a quiet discussion. When finally the last student was sorted into their house (Maree Vanderzant into Ravenclaw) Albus Dumbledore stood and the Hall fell silent. Dumbledore was a tall and thin man, with a long, silver beard which could be tucked into his belt, and often was at meal times. He wore half-moon spectacles halfway down his nose and bright robes, often with patterns on them. He was considered a genius, and a little mad, but was polite to everyone he met, and nearly always had a sparkle in his eyes.

'Welcome to yet another year at Hogwarts. I can hear your stomachs grumbling from here, so I won't keep you from this brilliant feast soon to be before us. May I just say; enjoy.' He clapped his hands once, and sat down. Across the house and staff tables, food appeared in the food dishes. People reached forward and piled their plates with anything they could reach, and began their meals and discussions.

'So James, what did you do once I left?' asked Nura, looking closely at her close friend. He gave her a small smile and shrugged.

'Not much. Tried to stop Padfoot from destroying the house ('Hey!'), swam a bit, did my homework, convinced Padfoot that I wouldn't be a good idea to break into your room and go through your underwear drawer ('I got bored!'), and had to avoid mum, she was so excited that I got Head Boy.' Nura glared at Sirius, who was trying to look innocent, before she turned back to Lily and drew her into a private conversation. Alice turned to talk to Remus as James and Claire looked at Sirius.

'She's going to kill you Padfoot,' said James.

'Once there are no witnesses around,' added Claire. Sirius gulped audibly and turned back to his food, slightly pale.

Finally the last dish disappeared, and Dumbledore stood once again.

'Ok, now that you are filled up, I wish to give you a few notices. Our Caretaker, Argus Filch, asks me to remind you once again that there are to be no spells in the corridors, that the Forbidden Forest is out of bounds, that the Whomping Willow is to be left alone, and that the list of forbidden items has grown once again.

Now, I would like to introduce our new Heads: Head Boy James Potter and Head Girl Lily Evans.' As their names were called, James and Lily stood and waved to the students before taking their seat again. 'Now, I shall let you go back to your dorms for some sleep. If the prefects could take the students up to the common rooms, and the Heads could remain behind, all will be well. Dismissed.' The students left the hall, as did the teachers, while Lily and James walked up to Dumbledore.

'I was going to take you up to your dorms, but I am rather tired. Am I right in assuming that you know where they are Mr. Potter?' he looked at James knowingly, and hid a smile.

'You might be,' replied James, once again only giving a small smile. Dumbledore nodded and began unwrapping a sweet.

'Well then, I trust you can lead the way for Miss Evans. You will be required to make up a password when you arrive. Good night, Mr. Potter, Miss Evans.' He nodded his head and turned towards his office. Lily glanced at James, who smiled at her and held out his hand. She rolled her eyes, but took it. Together, with James leading, they made their way to the head dorms. It was guarded by a portrait of a girl in a white dress. She curtsied and smiled at them.

'You must be James and Lily, correct?' at their nod, her smile grew 'Congratulations for becoming Head students. What would you like your password to be?' Lily looked at James and shrugged, but James wasn't looking at her face. Slowly, he reached forward until he could lift the chain around her neck. The chain that held the golden lily that James had given her for her birthday. He pulled her into a hug, catching her by surprise, and buried his face in her hair. Before she could react, he pulled away, and faced the painting.

'Golden Lily.' The portrait nodded and swung open to reveal the common room. They stepped inside and found a completely white room, about half the size of the Gryffindor common room, and filled with chairs, a table, a couch, and several desks. Looking around in confusion, Lily's eyes gasped when they saw the floor. Colour was spreading from them, washing over the plain white. Soon, the whole room was coloured in reds and gold. Turning to Lily, James gave her a swift hug and murmured a soft 'Good night, Lily' before heading for the left most door labeled 'James Potter'. Lily watched him go, and just as he was about to step inside, she replied.

'Good night… James.' James gave her a smile, a proper one, and vanished into his room.


	5. Chapter 5

**This story is dedicated to: **Cam, Ella, Lys, Ellen and Nura**  
**

**5**

Lily stepped out of her room into the common room to find James sitting in one of the armchairs, staring into the fire. When he heard her door click shut, he glanced over at her and smiled. Standing, he grabbed his school bag and pushed open the portrait, holding it open for her. She smiled at him and walked through. They made their way to the Great Hall for breakfast and sat down at the Gryffindor table with their friends. Lily was a bit disappointed that he didn't hold her hand again, but pushed that thought out of her head, blaming it on the fact that she was still tired.

Sirius sported a red handprint across his cheek, and Nura kept smirking at him. Remus was avoiding Sirius's eyes, pressing his lips together to hold in a laugh. Frank was sitting with Alice instead of at the Ravenclaw table, and Claire was having a debate with Peter over transfiguration. James sat down next to Sirius and Lily sat next to him.

'So Frank, how were your holidays?' asked Remus. James, Sirius and Peter all turned and joined the conversation, leaving the girls to talk amongst themselves.

'Not much, I saw Alice a few times, but apart from that it was rather dull. Still, it was good to not have to do 3 hours of assignments every night.' The Marauders all agreed with this statement.

'Well, I'm going to go for a fly. Any of you want to come?' asked James, standing up.

'Yeah, I will. Moony, Wormtail, Frank, you lot coming?' said Sirius, standing and stretching.

'Nah, I'll stay here. I'll collect your timetables for you,' said Remus, and Frank nodded his agreement. Peter grabbed a last piece of toast and followed after James and Sirius. Just as they left, post owls soared into the hall. Three dropped newspapers in front of Nura, Lily and Remus, who paid the owls and began to read. There was little talk for a few minutes before Nura spat out the mouthful of pumpkin juice she had just taken. Claire scowled at her friend and wiped herself off, but Nura took no notice, just staring at the little article.

'Oh God, no,' she whispered. 'Oh, please God, no.'

'What? What happened?' asked Lily, alarmed at her friends' behavior. Nura flicked Lily's newspaper to the correct page, and pointed out the article. Glancing at the section heading, Lily felt her blood run cold. It was the obituary. Reading the article, Lily felt everything fall into place.

_Deidre Potter_

_February 9th, 1971 – August 20th, 1977_

_May She Rest In Peace._

A loud clatter next to her startled her out of her shock. Nura had suddenly stood up and run out of the hall. Alice, Claire, Lily, Remus and Frank glanced at each other and ran after her.

They soon found her on the Quidditch pitch, her arms wrapped around James, sobbing into his chest. James's face had gone ashen, and Sirius stood to the side, his face bare of any emotion. Both Nura and Sirius considered Deidre a little sister, and while Sirius had had a short while to get used to the news, it had just hit Nura hard.

* * *

'She was visiting our Aunt's house, and they had gone shopping in Diagon Alley,' James was telling the group about what happened to his little sister. They were sitting in the Gryffindor common room around the fire. There were no classes, as it was Friday, and the teachers decided to start classes on Monday. 'There was an attack, Death Eaters, about 20 of them. Neither of them made it. She was hit with the Killing Curse by accident, and died straight away. Our Aunt wasn't so lucky. When the Death Eaters realized that they had one of the leading Ministry members, they tortured her, and had her eyes delivered to the Minister of Magic… who happens to be my uncle… her husband.' James had a stony expression on his face, and spoke disjointedly. Sirius had his arms around Claire, who looked like she was going to be sick, and Nura was shaking in Remus's arms. Frank and Alice sat on one on the couches, holding hands. Peter sat in front of the fire, staring at the ground, and Lily sat next to James, feeling sick. 

_How could anyone do that? How could someone kill a six year old child? She couldn't have defended herself. It's sick!_ Unconsciously, Lily leaned into James, who instinctively wrapped his arms around her shoulders.

'How did Michael and Jennifer take it?' whispered Nura hoarsely, referring to Mr. and Mrs. Potter.

'Not good for the first few days. Dad didn't talk much, and Mum kept bursting into tears. Padfoot and I mainly kept to our rooms. Me getting Head Boy seemed to cheer Mum up a little, so life became a little bit better… it's still strange though. I miss her. I had only just started to teach her to fly.' Sirius nodded his agreement with James' statement, and the room fell silent again. Finally, Claire spoke.

'I think I need to take a walk.' She pulled out of Sirius's arms, and started towards the portrait, followed by Alice, Nura and Lily. The boys were silent for a while longer, before Sirius thought of something.

'How about we plan a prank?' The Marauders looked at each other, and grinned. Frank was about to leave, but James waved him in. Sirius pulled out the Marauders Map, and the five young Men began writing down ideas.

* * *

Lily sighed and flopped down next to the lake. Alice, Claire and Nura followed suit, and sat in a circle. 

'So Lily, what's going with you and James?' asked Alice. Lily raised an eyebrow at the question, and looked back at Alice. Alice shrugged and gave her a look that made her realize her friend was trying to lighten the mood, if just for now. Lily silently commended her friend.

'What do you mean?'

'Well,' supplied Claire, 'you sitting next to him on the train yesterday, and at the table today. You share a private dorm with him, and we all saw you with his arm around you before.' Lily blushed, but shook her head.

'Nothings going on. I guess we're just friends now. He's being civil. What about you and Sirius, getting awful friendly, aren't you?' It was Claire's turn to blush, and she muttered a reply.

'Sorry, what was that? I couldn't hear you,' smirked Lily.

'I said I think I might like him, okay?' repeated Claire, glaring at Lily. The three other girls laughed and hugged their friend.

'So what are you going to do about it?' asked Nura. Claire sighed and shook her head.

'I don't know. Probably nothing. He's a player, and I don't want to get hurt.' The girls protested, but Claire just shook her head again. The group sighed as one, and hoped that tomorrow would be a normal day.


	6. Chapter 6

**This story is dedicated to: **Cam, Ella, Lys, Ellen and Nura**  
**

**6**

'Double potions, on a Monday morning? Dumbledore is trying to ruin my life,' groaned Sirius, staring at his timetable. The four Marauders were sitting at breakfast on Monday morning sleepily eating their breakfast.

'Oh yes, I'm sure Dumbledore was sitting in his office thinking "what can I do to make Sirius Black's life miserable?" while he was writing up the timetables,' said Claire, rolling her eyes as she sat down with Lily, Alice and Nura.

'So, what do we have for the rest of the day?' asked Lily. The girls shrugged, so she turned to James and Remus, but both didn't seem to hear her. 'James, Remus? Can you here me? Hey!' James looked up when Lily punched his arm, looking like he only just noticed that the girls were there.

'What? Oh, sorry.' He waved his wand at his face and then did the same to Remus and Peter. 'What were you saying?'

'Oh, ummm… What do we have after potions?'

'Oh, spare, lunch, transfiguration, charms, and then the rest of the day off,' said James, looking at his timetable. 'What?' He had just noticed all of the girls, except Nura, looking at them oddly.

'Why were you using the ear-plug charm?' asked Alice. James, Remus and Peter all burst out laughing, and it was Nura who answered for them.

'They use it all the time. It's to block out Sirius's never ending complaints. Of course, one time they'd used it on Snape. He went to the Hospital Wing because he thought he had gone deaf.' The girls laughed while Sirius rolled his eyes and looked at his watch. He grinned and pointed out the time to the rest of the Marauders. They all stopped laughing and quickly schooled their faces into innocent looks.

Just then, Snape stalked into the Great Hall and up to the Professor's table. He whispered something to Professor Slughorn, who promptly burst out laughing. Chuckling, he stood up and called across to the Marauders.

'Mr. Potter, Mr. Black, Mr. Lupin and Mr. Pettigrew, do you happen to know anything about why all of Mr. Snape's underwear is now bright pink.' Snape's face flushed, and he glared angrily at the Marauders, trying to ignore the laughter from the four house tables. Sirius suppressed a laugh while James answered.

'No sir, perhaps he likes the colour. I mean, it would match his face at the moment.' Snape's blush deepened, along with his glare.

* * *

Lily was walking down the dungeon corridor alone, on her way to potions, early as usual. The rest of her friends had gotten drawn into a pointless debate with the Marauders, one which she refused to participate in. As she walked down the cold hallway, she heard a second pair of footsteps echoing behind her. Spinning to see who it was, she found herself in the grip of Lucius Malfoy. 

'Ah, the pretty little Mud-blood, wondering the dungeons all by her self,' sneered Malfoy His eyes raked her body, lingering on her chest. Lily let out a disgusted noise.

'What do you want Malfoy?' she spat, trying to pull out of his grip. Malfoy tightened his grip on her upper arms, tight enough that she knew she would have bruises there.

'Just to take you like the dirty whore you are,' he grinned smugly and Lily paled. He was going try to rape her. She struggled vain as he began dragging her to one of the empty rooms, and tears began to make their way down her face. Suddenly a voice was heard.

'_STUPIFY!_' Malfoy slumped to the ground, and Lily wrenched out of his hold. Looking up, she found James standing there, fuming, and pointing his wand at the unconscious Malfoy. He looked up at her, and all anger disappeared.

_Oh god_, she thought, _he'll think I'm weak, unable to defend myself. Or he'll think that I wanted to be with Malfoy! I don't want him to pity me!_

'Lily, are you alright? Did he hurt you?' James asked, wrapping his arms around her. Lily shoved him away, her disgust with herself looking for a way out, and turning on James.

'I'm fine! I can look after myself, Potter; I don't need you to defend me! Stay away from me!' she yelled. She didn't want to shout at him, but she couldn't stop herself. She wiped her tears away angrily and turned on her heal, running to the potions room. When James entered, he avoided eye contact, and didn't speak throughout the lesson, despite his friend's persistent questions. Finally, the class was finished, and Lily got out as fast as she could.

* * *

Once again, Lily found herself flopping down by the lake. She stared across the vast body of water, watching a group of Hufflepuff 6th years playing with the Giant squid on the other side. 

'Lils, what's going on?' asked Nura sitting down next to her friend.

'What do you mean?'

'I mean you love potions, yet today you didn't answer any of the questions Professor Slughorn asked, and you wouldn't look at James.'

'Nothings going on, Nura.' Nura raised an eyebrow at Lily, and inspected her closely.

'If you say so,' she said, but didn't look away. Lily fidgeted nervously under her friends' inspection for five minutes before she gave in.

'Okay, fine, I'll tell you.' Nura smiled smugly, but stopped as soon as Lily told her what happened, concern washing over her. 'The worst thing is that I didn't even want to shout at him, but I couldn't stop,' Lily finished.

'Shh, Lils, it's okay. Show me your arms.' Lily took of her robes and rolled up the sleeves of her school blouse. Nura hissed when she saw the large purple bruise covering Lily's upper arms, her eyes flashing in anger. Standing up suddenly, she said to Lily 'Wait here,' and ran off. Lily sat in confusion for two minutes, before Nura returned, dragging a bewildered James along behind her.

'Nura, what's going on?' asked James, but Nura ignored him and pointed to Lily's arms.

'Look! Look what he did to her!' she half shouted. James' eyes landed on the bruises, and anger flared in his eyes. Lily began to roll down her sleeves, self-conscious of the still deepening bruises, but James stopped her. He places his hands over her bruises and closed his eyes, concentrating hard. A soft blue glow covered his hands and her arms, bringing a soothing chill with it, and when it disappeared he removed his hands to reveal no bruises.

Lily gaped at her arms for a few seconds, prodding it to make sure they were healed, before looking up. James had already started to walk away. Suddenly, Lily stood up and ran over too him. Wrapping his arms around him, she whispered apologies and thank you's until he silenced her with a hand over her mouth.

'Think nothing of it, Lily,' he said and placed his arms around her.


	7. Chapter 7

**This story is dedicated to: **Cam, Ella, Lys, Ellen and Nura**  
**

**7**

Over the next week, the sight of Lily and James walking down to the Great Hall together was a common one, and the cause of much talk around the school. On Friday during breakfast Nura, Claire and Alice cornered Lily to ask her what was going on.

'So Lily, are the rumors true for once?' asked Alice. Lily looked at her questionably.

'What rumors?'

'The rumors saying that you and James are dating, of course,' said Claire, rolling her eyes. Lily's eyes widened and a slight blush crept up her face.

'People are saying that? She asked. The rest of the girls nodded.

'Well, yeah. You're not shouting a t him anymore, and you walk to the Great Hall with him everyday,' Claire stated. Lily's blush slightly deepened.

'Well nothing is going on, we're just friends.' Claire and Alice shrugged and moved down a few chairs to talk to the Marauders. Nura just looked at her friend and smiled.

'You like him, don't you?' she asked. Lily opened her mouth to deny it, but couldn't. Instead she just nodded and blushed even more. 'Well why don't you tell him? He would be thrilled.' At this Lily's face saddened and she shook her head.

'He's over me,' she said, 'I turned him down too many times. He only wants to be friends.' Nura raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything.

* * *

'The first Hogsmeade trip shall be next weekend,' said Dumbledore. He was looking over his half-moon spectacles at Lily and James, who were sitting in front of his desk. 'This will give the students time to go shopping for any items they might need. On Sunday I shall be announcing a Halloween Ball, for students 5th year and above. A bit of a break from the O.W.L. and N.E.W.T. studies. I need you two to post the dates of the trip in all the Common rooms and organize the ball. All the decisions are up to you. You have a budget of 6,000 galleons and 3 weeks to plan. Will you be able to do that?' 

James and Lily nodded and began the trip down to the Great Hall for lunch.

'What do we have after lunch?' asked James.

'Spare, then Defense Against the Dark Arts and Charms,' replied Lily. James nodded and held the doors to the Great Hall open, giving her a warm smile. Lily felt her knees go weak and she mentally scolded herself. _Stop it! He doesn't like you that way anymore. He just wants to be friends._ Her heart wrenched at these thoughts but she ignored it.

* * *

'Welcome class, my name is Professor Sinnett. I am your new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher.' Professor Sinnett looked about 5 foot 9 as he walked around to the front of the desk and sat on it. He had short brown hair and looked to be in his mid-thirties. A band of white skin circling his fourth finger indicated that he was divorced or his wife was dead. 

Remembering wizarding law, which prohibited divorce, Lily realized it was the latter of the two.

'Now, I realize that you haven't had a Defense teacher for more than a year at a time, and let me tell you now, I won't be the one to break this tradition, curse or jinx, call it what you will. I am here as a favour to Dumbledore while I'm on leave from my job as an Auror, and after this year, I will be going back to my work at the Ministry. Now, let us begin. Everyone move your desk to the side. Without your wand,' he spoke the last sentence directly to Malfoy, who scowled and shoved his wand back into his pocket. 'As you are 7th years, you are going to learn dueling. Malfoy, Potter, you first.'

James and Lucius stood in the centre of the room. Drawing their wands, they bowed slightly to one another, and took 5 paces in opposite directions. Spinning, they lowered their wands at the other, and awaited the instructions.

'There are to be absolutely no illegal spells, _especially_ no Unforgivable curses! 3… 2… 1… Begin!' shouted Professor Sinnett.

'_Stupefy!_' two voices shouted at once. The red beams ricochet off one another, harmlessly hitting the wall. Already more spells were flying. Malfoy fired cutting curses at James over and over, each leaving a deep scratch on his face or body before the skin rejoined with the same soft blue glow that had healed Lily's arms. James however used his brain a bit more. He stood and began making patterns in the air with his wand, ignoring every cut that briefly decorated his body.

In her mind Lily smirked. _Cut him all you want, Malfoy, it won't work. He'll just continue to heal himself. And while you waste time, he's building up an advanced shield. You're just wasting magic_. She glanced at Nura to see if her best friend had realized the same thing, but Nura was pale, and her eyes grew more worried with every appearance of the glow that signified the healing magic at work. Then she sighed and slumped with relief. Glancing back at James, she saw him complete the shield. A transparent silver bubble surrounded him, and all of Malfoy's spells bounded back towards him.

'Stupefy.' Malfoy deflected the spell, sending it into the roof. 'Petrificus Totalis.' Malfoy sent this one at the blackboard. James frowned, knowing that Malfoy would just deflect, dodge or block any direct spells he sent at him, so he changed tactics. He flicked his wand at several pieces of furniture around the room, transfiguring them into different animals. As the animals began to run around the classroom, James pointed his wand at the now confused Malfoy. Malfoy tried to ignore the animals, and prepared to deflect the stunner that James was going to send at him. James, however, had a different idea.

'_Avis_.' Yellow canaries flew at Malfoy's face and began to use their tiny talons and beaks to wreak havoc on his face. As Malfoy tried to wave off and banish the birds at the same time, James sent a stunner at him. As Malfoy slumped to the ground, Professor Sinnett stepped forward and began to clap.

'That's the way. If you can't hit them directly, attack indirectly. Now, it appears that that's all the time we have for today. 10 points to Gryffindor. Mr. Snape, could you help me revive Mr. Malfoy please?' As the class began to file out the door, Lily made her way over to James, who was being helped by Sirius.

'Nice work James,' he smiled at her. As he they walked down the corridor, she noticed that he seemed slightly weary. 'Are you alright? You seem kind of worn out.'

'Oh yeah, I'm fine, just a little tired. Had a late night last night.' Lily nodded and wrapped an arm around him, supporting him slightly. As they made their way down the corridor towards the Charms classroom, Lily tried to suppress the fluttering in her chest.


	8. Chapter 8

**This story is dedicated to: **Cam, Ella, Lys, Ellen and Nura**  
**

**8**

The next morning James was able to support himself properly, despite another late night of posting the dates of the Hogsmeade weekend in the common rooms and planning the Halloween Ball. So as James made his way down to the Great Hall on his own, Lily quickly got changed. 

Lily ran down the corridor and around a corner just to stop in her tracks. James was halfway down the corridor with six or seven girls, most Hufflepuff 7th years, all flirting with him. James was smiling charmingly at all of them, and talking politely.

Lily felt a cold, heavy clump in her stomach, and decided that she wasn't that hungry anymore. She was about to turn on her heel, and run back to their private common room when something caught her eye. James raised his wand behind his back and flicked it around. The word 'Help' burnt brightly in the air behind him so only Lily could see it. As it disappeared, Lily smiled.

'Come on James,' she said, striding forward, 'our friends are waiting for us.' James nodded and politely excused himself from the cluster of girls. When they rounded the corner, James visibly relaxed.

'Thank you so much,' he said causing Lily to roll her eyes and grin.

'Oh yes, I'm sure it's every man's nightmare to have a groups of girls flirting with him,' she said sarcastically. James let out a laugh. 'So, what were they talking to you, so enthusiastically, about?'

'Oh, they were asking if I wanted to go to Hogsmeade with them.' Lily's heart plummeted, but she forced the grin to stay on her face.

'Oh… and what did you say?' she asked, not really sure that she wanted to know, or would be able to handle the answer, especially if it was not the one she wanted to hear.

'I told them I was sorry, but there was only one girl I wanted to go with,' he replied. Lily's heart dropped further. He liked someone else.

'She's a lucky girl,' she said, hating herself for the words that she was forcing out her mouth. 'You should ask her quick before she agrees to go with someone else.'

'You think so?' James asked. Lily just nodded, feeling like she would be sick if she opened her mouth again. James stopped and faced her. 'Err, Lily?' he ran a hand through his hair, but shoved it into his pocket when she raised an eyebrow. 'Sorry, nervous habit.' _What could he have to be nervous about?_ Lily thought as she motioned for him to continue. 'I was wondering if you would like to like to go to Hogsmeade with me. Ummm… would you…?' Lily stood frozen for a split second, then, slowly with realization of the situation, a smile crept up onto her face.

'I would love to.'

* * *

The circle of friends sat in the Heads' common room working on their homework together. James and Lily kept glancing at each other and smiling, something which the rest of the group had gradually begun to notice. After half an hour of this, they couldn't stand it anymore. 

'Okay, what's going on?' blurted Sirius, slamming his quill on the desk. Remus and Claire rolled their eyes at his exasperating lack of subtlety, but looked at Lily and James expectantly, along with the rest.

'Why, Padfoot, what in the world could you possibly be referring to?' asked James, his voice and expression filled with overly fake innocence.

'I mean, Prongs, why do you and Lily-Billy keep shooting looks at one another?' asked Sirius, pointedly ignoring the fact that his best friend was openly mocking him.

'I have no idea what you're talking about, Padfoot,' said James, grinning. Sirius rolled his eyes and muttered under his breath, then went back to his homework. Most of the group followed his example.

'You're going to Hogsmeade together, aren't you?' asked Nura, tilting her head to the side. Everyone's heads rapidly shot back up. Lily blushed and James grinned again, but both nodded, happiness and embarrassment showing plainly on both faces. Nura smiled and went back to her charms essay, while everyone else questioned and congratulated the two.

* * *

'James, why does Sirius call you Prongs?' asked Lily, stopping outside the Charms classroom. The two were performing their Saturday night patrols around the school corridors together. James sighed and looked out the window. Tomorrow was the full moon, and Remus had already gone to the Hospital Wing. 

'I can't say I didn't expect this question,' he said.

'You don't have to tell me if you don't want to,' said Lily. James looked at her and smiled. _That's why I love her,_ he thought.

'It's not that I don't want to tell you, because I do, but I can't. It's just I can't because it would be telling more secrets than my own. It involves the other Marauders too.'

Lily nodded and looked at the ground. 'Padfoot, Moony and Wormtail, right?' James nodded and Lily sighed.

'I'm sorry Lily; I _do_ want to tell you.'

'It's okay, I understand,' she said, wrapping her arms around him. James returned the hug, and they continued down the corridor.


	9. Chapter 9

**This story is dedicated to: **Cam, Ella, Lys, Ellen and Nura**  
**

**9**

'Bored. I am bored. Very bored.' Claire was sitting upside down on the couch in the Gryffindor common room, her legs dangling over the back, and was continuously talking about how bored she was, much to the annoyance of Alice and several nearby first years. 'Bored, bored, bored, bored. I mean, really, really bored. I might explode if I get anymore bo-'

'SHUT UP, CLAIRE!' screamed Alice, throwing a pillow at her friend. Nura and Lily were both sitting on the other couch ignoring Claire and reading. Alice was lying in front of the fire with her potions essay on the uses of the Dreamless Sleep potion, which was due the next morning. However, she had gotten distracted by Claire's narration of her boredom, and the last two inches was just the word bored over and over. She looked down at her essay and groaned.

'But I'm so bored!' said Claire, repeating herself again, just in case they didn't already know. Alice just rolled her eyes and began to use her wand to clear away the offending words, muttering darkly. 'I bet the Marauders are having fun. What are the boys up to? Nura? Lily? LILY!' Claire whacked Lily's shoulder to get her attention.

'Ow! What? Oh, wait.' Lily waved her wand over her ears, and then did the same to Nura. Claire gaped at them.

'You were using the ear plug charm?'

'Well, yeah, of course. You were talking utter rubbish.' On the floor Alice groaned and let her head drop onto her essay.

'Why didn't I think of that?' Claire huffed indignantly, and repeated her question.

'Where are the Marauders?' Lily shrugged, and Nura looked up from her book.

'They're having a Marauders-night-out. They won't be back until tomorrow morning.'

'On a Sunday night? We have school tomorrow,' said Lily. Nura shrugged.

'Well, I bet they're at least having fun.'

* * *

'ARRRRGH!' Remus's voice broke as he yelled his pain. He was shaking violently, and his body was slowly changing. 

'Stay with us, Moony!' shouted Sirius. One of the flying limbs hit him, and he stumbled backwards and tripped on one of the broken pieces of furniture that were all around the Shrieking Shack.

'Remember who you are. You are Remus John Lupin, Gryffindor prefect, remember that!' said James, holding one of Remus's arms down. Remus looked at James panting, his eyes filled with pain and desperation. 'Peter, close the trapdoor, we're not going out tonight.' Peter nodded, and ran for the door in the middle of the floor, slamming it closed and locking it securely.

'James… you must… change… I can't con… control it… much… longARRRGH!' Remus's hoarse voice let loose a roar, and his body began to grow. James backed away, and looked at his friends. They nodded and James let the burning sensation, which he had learned to ignore, fill his body, and his vision blurred. When it faded, the world came into focus, sharper than before. Sounds that were missed by him before now assaulted him, and his sense of smell strengthened. Behind him, a large, black, shaggy dog stood, watching their friend before them scream in pain once again, but this time it ended in a howl. A large rat climbed up one of the drapes to take a place at the window.

The werewolf stood in front of them, panting. Slowly it raised its head, and let loose a bone chilling howl. Then, unexpectedly, it lunged at Prongs. As teeth sank into one of Prongs' legs, the stag bucked, trying to dislodge the large wolf. Padfoot tackled the wolf to the ground. The wolf and dog were rolling on the ground, deaf to Wormtail's squeaks of fright. Prongs breathed heavily with his eyes closed, knowing the healing magic wouldn't work until he changed back, and he couldn't do that with a werewolf in the same room. At Padfoot's yelp of pain, he opened his eyes to see 4 claw marks bleeding sluggishly on his shoulder, and the wolf still attacking ferociously. Stamping angrily, he limped over to the fighting pair and pinned the wolf with his antlers.

The werewolf growled at being trapped, and struggled to get free; snapping at Prongs, and scratching at whatever he could reach. Prongs snorted again, and pressed down harder, a sharp point branching off the main trunk of the antlers digging into the wolf's chest. Immediately, the wolf stilled, and when Prongs was sure he was relaxed, he lifted his head. Sure enough, the werewolf had recognized the animals as his friends, and loped over to Padfoot, nudging him with his head. Padfoot growled and limped over to a corner, where he curled up and licked his wounds. The werewolf whined, and looked over at Prongs. The stag snorted, and prepared himself for a long night.

* * *

At five o'clock three figures walked across the grounds into the castle, two supporting the third between them. When they entered the doors, the three Marauders threw the invisibility cloak over themselves. When they neared the Head dorms, James slipped out from under the cloak with the map, knowing his friends would make it to their dorms without it. He muttered the password to the girl in the white dress. She raised an eyebrow, but said nothing as she allowed him to pass. 

When he entered the common room, he found Lily sleeping on her homework at one of the desks. He smiled and picked her up, carrying her to her room. When he opened her door, he noticed small differences between the rooms. Her room was white and gold, as was her bed. Frames were on a desk beside her bed, filled with pictures of her family and friends, and a book shelf was along the wall opposite the door that led to the bathroom. James placed Lily on her bed and pulled the covers over her. Smiling, he kissed her softly on her forehead, and walked through the door that led into their shared bathroom. He stepped in front of the mirror, and took in his appearance. The dark skin under his eyes reminded him that he had not slept for well over a day, and drops of blood had splattered onto his face. His leg was covered in dry blood, staining the pair of sweat pants he was wearing. _Oh well_, he thought, _I can clean them tomorrow_.

As he walked into his room and fell into his bed, his thoughts turned back to Lily. She was going to Hogsmeade with him next weekend. Smiling, he crawled under his blankets, thinking_ if all goes well, I can ask her to be my girlfriend after our date_.


	10. Chapter 10

**This story is dedicated to: **Cam, Ella, Lys, Ellen and Nura

Sorry Ellen. Next chapter, I promise.

Thanks everyone who reviewed.**  
**

**10**

Sirius stumbled into the Gryffindor common room, shutting his eyes tight in agony as he clutched his still bleeding shoulder. His robes were soaked in blood, both dried and fresh, and the warm liquid was making several trails down his hand, joining at the wrist.

'You okay, Padfoot?' asked Peter, pulling the cloak off them. He looked at the wound and hissed in sympathy.

'Yeah… yeah, I'm fine,' panted Sirius, leaning against the wall. 'Just need to rest. You go ahead… get out the potions.' Peter nodded and ascended the stairs to their dorm.

Sirius opened his eyes slightly and looked around the dark common room. The only light was the dying embers of the fire. _The house elves must have been here already,_ he thought, noticing the lack of rubbish around the room. Then something caught his eye.

A figure was lying on one of the couches, cushioning their head with their arms. Sirius staggered forwards, trying to be quiet. As he got closer, features came into proper view. It was a girl, with blonde hair. When he was just a meter from her, he recognized the scar that was above her right eye, a result of a curse from a Slytherin. The scar was faded now, barely visible, and those who didn't know it was there often missed it. The incident had occurred in their second year. The end product was a scar that read 'MUDBLOOD' for those who cared to look close enough to read it.

The Slytherin himself had instantly become a target of the Marauders, by James' decision. No one hurt a friend of Nura's. The Slytherin had disappeared a week later, only to be found crawling out of the Forbidden Forest after 4 days, crying and babbling about being chased by lions. That incident brought about two of the many unwritten laws of Hogwarts. Do not mess with the Marauders. Do not mess with the Marauders' friends.

Sirius smiled at the memory and pulled one of the blankets off the squishy chairs to place over Claire. He smiled and began to back away, but blood dripped into his eye and onto her cheek. He cursed and rubbed the blood out of his eye. Feeling around his forehead, he found a gash over his right eye. He cursed again, and rubbed the drop of red of Claire's cheek.

'Goodnight Claire,' he muttered, and then limped his way upstairs. When he entered his dormitory, Peter chucked him a small bottle filled with a red potion. Sirius pulled out the cork and put the bottle to his lips, throwing his head back and feeling the healing draught tingle down his throat. He walked into the bathroom, trying to ignore the pain of his muscles and skin knitting together. When he reached the cupboard above the sink, he opened it and placed the empty bottle on the shelf below the other healing potions they kept.

He closed the cupboard and looked at the mirror on its door. His skin was pale except for the shadows under his eyes, and where blood had dried. He sighed, and glanced at the photos of girls he had stuck around the edges of the mirror. Sighing again, Sirius contemplated for 10 minutes, eventually reaching a conclusion. It was time to change.

He tore the pictures down, and ripped them in half, throwing them into the rubbish bin. With one last glance in the mirror, he made his way out of the bathroom and into his bed. As he lay down and prepared to go to sleep, another pair of eyes opened. The grey eyes reflected the light of the fire in the Gryffindor common room, and if anyone could have seen them, they would have found the confusion that filled Claire Adrea's mind.

* * *

Lily didn't see Alice at breakfast, or during her spare. By lunch, she was starting to get worried. 

'Nura, have you seen Alice?' Nura looked up from her baked potatoes and frowned thoughtfully.

'No… she was gone before we woke up, and I didn't see her in the Library. Do you think something might have happened?'

Lily bit her lip, and glanced around the hall. 'I'm not sure… but I think we should find her. I'm a bit worried.' Nura nodded, and waved over Remus and James, who had just entered the hall.

'Hey Lily, hey Nunu, what's going on?' asked James, dropping into the chair beside Lily. Nura glared.

'Must you call me that? You know I've hated it since you made it up.' James grinned.

'Yes, yes I do.' Nura threw her hands in the air, and began stabbing her potato with malice.

'Nura, cheer up, he only does it to get a rise out of you. Don't let him, you're better than that.' Nura smiled at Remus gratefully, until he continued. 'So what can we do you for, Nunu?' Nura turned her full glare on Remus. He raised an eyebrow, so she got up and walked out of the Great Hall. As Remus watched her go, his shoulder's slumped.

'She likes you Remus,' stated Lily. Remus spun to look at her.

'How can you tell?'

'I've been her friend for nearly 7 years, I think I would know.'

'She's right, mate,' added James. 'And I've known her since she was 4.' Remus didn't reply, but his yellow eyes were brighter. James grinned and looked at Lily. 'So Lily, what's happening?'

'We can't find Alice, Nura said she wasn't in the dorm when they woke up.' The grin was wiped off James' face, and both he and Remus became grim.

'We'll look into it,' said Remus, and the two Marauders stood up and strode out of the Hall. Lily sighed, grabbed an apple, and went off to find Nura and Claire.

* * *

The four Marauders looked over the map, looking closely for their friend. Fifteen minutes passed before Sirius smiled triumphantly, and pointed to a secluded spot near the lake. James wrote a message to Lily on a scrap of parchment and waved his wand over it. The words disappeared off the parchment, appearing on whatever Lily was looking at. After 30 seconds, the words reappeared. The Marauders wiped the map clean and set off for the lake. 


	11. Chapter 11

**This story is dedicated to: **Cam, Ella, Lys, Ellen and Nura**  
**

**11**

Alice stared across the lake, holding her knees to her chest, wondering why it could be so calm when she herself was not. How could everyone think everything was normal when nothing was. What she had seen this morning had changed everything. When she had seen Frank in the corridor- No, she wouldn't think about it. She couldn't think about it, it hurt too much. Glancing around for something to occupy her wandering mind, she caught site of her shadow. From what she could tell, it was well past lunch time, maybe 3 o'clock. The dull ache in her stomach reminded her that she not eaten yet today.

_But then_, she thought, _I probably wouldn't be able to keep it down, even if I wanted to eat._ Sighing, Alice lay down on her side and tried to keep her mind blank. Slowly, with the help of the warm sun, she drifted into sleep. But her dreams would not comply with her wishes, and the scene of that morning played itself over in her head.

_Alice walked down the corridor, feeling bubbly and excited as she enjoyed the morning sun that shone through the windows. Last night Dumbledore had announced a Halloween Ball, and Frank had sent her a note to meet him at lunch time in the charms corridor._

_As she walked down that same corridor, heading towards the Great Hall, she saw something that stopped her where she stood. At the end of the corridor stood Frank. He didn't appear to notice her. In fact, all of his attention was focused on the slim girl wrapped in his arms. She had brown hair that brushed her shoulder, with just a hint of red in it, and the top of her head rested just under Frank's chin. A barely visible blue and bronze tie indicated that she was in Ravenclaw, perhaps 6th year. Alice caught a few of Frank's words, which he was whispering into the girl's ear._

'_Shh, its okay, you still have me.' Alice gasped and turned on her heel, fleeing the corridor, a single tear falling from her face. The only evidence that she had been there in the first place was a small splash on the cold stone floor._

* * *

Lily ran towards the lake, Nura and Claire trailing behind her. When she reached the far side, she looked for the place James had described. There! The cluster of trees that stood alone. Catching her breath, Lily slowed to a walk, and stepped into the glade, where she found Alice asleep. She was using her arm as a pillow, and her long brown hair was lying across her face, not tied back as was usual. 

'Alice? Alice, wake up,' Claire knelt beside Alice's sleeping body and gently shook her. Alice groaned and tiredly raised an arm, swatting at Claire. Claire sighed and shook her harder.

'Huh? Where am I?' Alice peered around sleepily, and rubbed her eyes.

'Alice Joanna Abbott, what is the meaning of this?' demanded Claire. 'Disappearing without leaving a note, not showing up to any meals, not to mention classes! You could have died! We were worried about you!' Alice looked at the ground shame-faced.

'She's right you know Alice, you gave us quite the fright.' The girls looked up to see the Marauders stepping through the trees. Sirius dropped to the ground beside Claire, Remus leant against a tree, and Peter climbed onto an over hanging branch. James stood and continued to talk. 'What's got you so down?' He motioned towards Alice's face, which had tear stains on them.

'Oh, it's nothing,' she said, rubbing her cheeks. Peter hooked his legs over the branch and fell backwards, so that his face was hanging besides Alice's.

'Nothing doesn't make you cry. Tell us Alice, we're your friends.' Alice looked around at the seven people and smiled. Slowly, she repeated what she had seen that morning. By the end, Alice had a few more tears running down her face. Nura had her arm around Alice, and Lily was physically restraining Claire from jumping up and hunting down Frank. James pulled out a piece of parchment and quill and began quickly sketching.

'Alice, is this the girl?' he asked, holding the drawing out towards her. It was quickly done, but very detailed. Alice looked at it closely and nodded. James smiled. 'Her name is Ellen. You were right; she's a 6th year Ravenclaw.'

'But what was she doing with Frank?' she asked.

'Last night her father died, Frank was probably comforting her. Her full name is Ellen Longbottom. She is Frank's sister.' Alice was silent as she absorbed this information. Suddenly, she stood up and ran out of the glade, heading for the castle.

* * *

On Thursday Lily, James, Nura and Remus were walking towards the Heads common room after lunch when they bumped into Severus Snape, who immediately withdrew his wand and pointed it at James. 

'Hello, Snape,' said James stiffly. Lily placed her hand on James' arm, trying to get him to calm down. Snape noticed this and sneered.

'Potter, Sheidaee,' he said, nodding mockingly at the two. 'Still hanging around with the mudblood and the half-breed?' Lily looked at Remus oddly, trying to understand Snape's meaning. Remus fidgeted a little, but didn't look at her, so she turned back to Snape. 'You shame your family's name. You shame your blood by spending time with this filth,' he spat. Lily felt her blood boil at the comment, but fought it down.

'Well, my blood will have to deal with it, _Severus_,' said James, looking Snape steadily in the eye. '50 points from Slytherin for using that foul language.' Snape shrugged and smirked.

'So how is that little sister of yours, Potter? I haven't seen her working in the streets for a while.' Behind Lily Nura gasped, and Remus moved forward to grab hold of James. Unfortunately he wasn't quick enough, and James pulled out from Lily's hold and lunged at Snape. Within a matter of second James was holding him against a railing, and Snape paled as he saw the three floor drop to the ground below him.

'Don't you _ever_ mention Deidre again, do you understand me?' when Snape didn't answer, James pushed further.

'James, stop, he's not worth it,' said Nura. 'He's not worth anything.' James held Snape over the railing for a moment longer, and then threw him across the wall on the other side of the corridor. Snape hit the wall head first and slumped to the ground, clutching his nose.

'Mark my words Potter, you'll pay for this.' James wasn't listening as he stalked down the corridor, and was soon out of sight. When he was gone, Nura turned to Snape and crouched before him. Slowly she reached forward and took hold of his robes. She brought his face right up to hers, ignoring the blood that was trailing out of his nose, and spoke in a cold, deadly voice.

'If you mention James' sister again… I will make you wish you were dead. Do not doubt me.' And with that, she turned and grabbed Remus' hand, pulling him along the corridor. Lily took one last glance at the pathetic figure on the ground, and ran off to find James.


	12. Chapter 12

**Sorry:** Im terribly sorry about the wait people, but not only have me and my computer had a fight, but me and my good health have aswell. Its not been a very good month.

**This story is dedicated to: **Cam, Ella, Lys, Ellen and Nura

**12**

Lily and James sat down at Gryffindor table in the Great Hall on Sunday morning. Today was to be the first Hogsmeade weekend of the year, and Lily and James' first date. Across from them was Sirius, who had been sitting by himself when they had entered the Hall.

'You okay Padfoot?' asked James.

'Yeah… yeah, I'm fine,' he muttered, 'why do you ask?'

'Because, you haven't touched your food.' This was true, before Sirius sat a plate full of scrambled eggs, which he was pushing around with his fork. Sirius shrugged and put a forkful of the eggs into his mouth, then pulled a face and quickly spat them into a napkin. Lily raised her eyebrow at him.

'Gone cold.' James put his piece of toast down and studied his friend intently. He wasn't acting like himself, and this was worrying the Marauders. Remus had told James that Sirius had got rid of all his pictures and magazines, except a few about Quidditch.

'Pads, you sure your feeling alright? You haven't been yourself for a while… a week actually, ever since…' James trailed off, and Sirius nodded to show he understood.

'I know, I'm fine. I… I guess, well, I've just been a bit confused lately. I'm just sorting my thoughts out.' James nodded and let the issue drop.

'You lot talking about Padfoot's behavior over the past week?' asked Peter, dropping himself into the seat next to Sirius. James nodded, and Remus sat on the other side of Sirius.

'Ah, well I'm sure you'll figure it out soon, Padfoot, just give it time,' said the werewolf wisely. Sirius smiled and pushed his food away from him. Sitting back, he watched Claire, Alice and Nura make their way down the table.

'So what are you all doing in Hogsmeade today?' asked Claire, taking a seat next to Lily. Alice sat next to Peter, and Nura sat next to James.

'Me and Frank are planning to spend the day together,' said Alice cheerfully.

'As are we,' said James, wrapping his arm around Lily's shoulders. Lily grinned and took the chance to steal a blueberry muffin off James' plate. Nura and Remus shrugged at the same time, and Claire looked questionably are Sirius. He opened his mouth to answer, but before any sound could come out, a 6th year Gryffindor appeared in his lap.

'Siri, I was wondering if you would like to escort me to Hogsmeade today. Perhaps we could even spend the day together,' she said, fluttering her eyelashes lightly. Her lips grinned prettily and she twisted a few of her brown, corkscrew curls of hair around her finger. Lily saw Claire look away and begin to concentrate fiercely on her toast, but the she was distracted by the 6th year's curl bouncing perfectly back into place. Lily watched with a kind of morbid fascination as the action was repeated several times over, wondering if the hair was actually real, and if it would attack back if you tried to cut it. She shook herself back into reality in time to hear Sirius' response.

'I'm sorry, Rebecca, I'm not planning on going to Hogsmeade today.' Rebecca pouted and wriggled a little in his lap.

'Well, maybe I can spend the day with you here, you know, talking and,' she smiled suggestively, '_other_ things.' Lily frowned and glanced at Claire again, who was stabbing her bacon as though it had betrayed her.

'Umm, no. I was planning to spend the day alone, you know. Just me and my thoughts.' Rebecca frowned for half a moment, then let out a big, fake sigh and stood up.

'Okay, maybe next trip, kay?' She bounced off after giving Sirius a cheeky grin, and fluttering her fingers at the rest.

'Yeah, sure thing,' Sirius muttered to his plate. 'I'm going for a walk, I'll see you guys when you get back.'

'Yeah, okay. Bye Padfoot,' said Peter to Sirius' retreating back.

'So what are everyone's plans for today?' asked Claire as they walked down the path to the gates. She was walking beside James and Lily, who both looked very excited about the day ahead. In front of them were Frank, Alice and Peter, and Nura and Remus had fallen back while discussing the recent news.

'Well, I was hoping to spend the day with Lily,' he looked questionably at the red-head, who grinned at him, 'so I guess we will just be wandering around Hogsmeade.'

'And Alice and Frank are going on a date together, but they won't say where,' added Lily. 'I'm not sure about Remus, Nura or Peter. What about you?'

'I'm not sure, I'm sure I'll find something to do.' Everyone arrived at the gates, and Alice turned and waved to her friends before walking off with Frank.

'Hey Lily, Claire, James; Remus and I are going to the Three Broomsticks, you want to come?'

'Sure,' answered Lily, 'but what about Peter?' James nudged her and pointed towards the main street, where Peter was walking off with a mix of Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw 7th year boys.

'Umm, I think I'll catch up with you all later, okay?' said Claire. The other four nodded, and headed towards the pub. Claire ran towards a student walking by herself and fell into step beside her. 'Hey, why all alone?'

'Oh, hey. Claire, right? My best friend is on a date, and I didn't want to be the third wheel or ruin it for her. What about you?' asked Ellen.

'Yep, Claire. Same with me, although I'm not exactly sure if Nura and Remus would say they are on a date. They're so shy, it can be funny.' Ellen let out a quiet laugh and grinned.

'Ah yea, I know what you mean.' The two girls walked in silence for a short while, before a question caught Claire off guard. 'You obviously like Sirius Black, and it looks like he feels the same about you, so why aren't you dating?'

Claire was so startled by this question, by the bluntness of it, that she said the first thing that came to mind. 'I don't want to be played.'

Ellen nodded but stared ahead. 'He's changing, you know, becoming more mature. He's doing it for a reason too. The old Sirius would have accepted Rebecca's invitation without hesitation. So if he is changing for a reason, what is it?' Claire stared blankly at the 6th year Ravenclaw. 'You,' finished Ellen. 'I need to meet up with Katie now, I'll see you around Claire.'


	13. Chapter 13

**This story is dedicated to: **Cam, Ella, Lys, Ellen and Nura**  
**

**13**

Lily was outside Honeydukes, waiting for James, who had said he wanted to get a surprise for her. She had told him not to, insisting that she could buy her own sweets, but he had persisted stubbornly. She was now sitting on a bench outside, looking absentmindedly up at the clear blue sky.

'He's just pretending. I mean, how can someone change the way they've felt for six years in just a few months? He's probably just hoping to be able to sleep with her. I mean, why would James Potter want to date Lily Evans?'

Lily looked in the direction that the voice had come from and saw a bunch of Ravenclaw girls walking past the shops, appearing to have not seen her sitting there.

'Besides, I'm sure I saw him flirting with some sixth year girls from Hufflepuff. We'll have the old James back soon enough,' one of the girls said her disapproval of Lily evident in her voice.

Lily bit her lip nervously as she watched the girls walk out of sight. Just then James walked out of the shop, carrying a Honeydukes bag.

'Here you go Lily, I hope you like-- Lily, are you okay?' His smile was quickly replaced with a look of concern.

'Yeah… yeah, I'm fine,' she began distractedly. Glancing into the bag sitting on her lap, she exclaimed, 'Oh, wow, Ever-lasting Gobstoppers,' she said, forcing her irritation at the Ravenclaws to the back of her mind. 'Just like from the Willy Wonka movie.'

'Willy who?' asked James, confusion written all over his face.

'Never mind,' Lily laughed.

* * *

Lily and James stood together, looking towards the Shrieking Shack. It was getting dark, but had decided to visit one last place before they ended their date. They had both been a bit nervous at first, but had had a lovely time, in the end. Throughout the day Lily had been thinking about James, how he had changed, how much she really did like him, and what the group of Ravenclaws had said. Now she stood in the setting sun, her hair whipping in the wind, her hand clasped tightly in his. 

_It has all happened so fast,_ she thought, closing her eyes. _One day I couldn't stand him, and the next day I wanted to date him. It's kind of scary how much I like him. I'm practically falling in love._

She felt a pair of lips settle on hers and her mind panicked. _But what if the girls were right? What if he's only pretending to change? It's a trick. It's too fast. I don't want to fall for him. I won't. I won't fall in love with Potter, no matter how much he's changed, or how much he says he's changed. I can't. I Can't. I CAN'T._

'STOP!' she cried, tearing her mouth from his and opening her eyes. James opened his eyes, a look of perplexity playing over his face. She knew she would feel bad, guilty, even, if she looked into his eyes, so she shoved him away and ran full speed back to the castle.

_They were right. It had to be a trick. It must have been. He was only playing with my mind and my emotions. I hate him. I HATE HIM!_ With that, Lily jumped into the nearest empty carriage and slammed the door shut as it began its way back towards Hogwarts.

* * *

James stumbled back a few steps and watched as Lily turned around and ran back to the gates of Hogsmeade Village. He was about to give chase when he realized what Lily had said. 

'STOP!' her voice shouted through his head.

'Stop,' he whispered to himself. He took one step forwards. 'Stop,' he whispered again. Looking up at the sky, he fell into a sitting position. What had happened? What had gone wrong?

'Hey Prongs, what's up? Where's Lily?' James turned to face Peter, who was walking up the side path towards him.

'Hey, Wormtail,' Peter stopped and looked down at him, then sat down on the ground beside him.

'It didn't go so well, huh?' James gave a sad smile and looked back at the Shack.

'It went fine, brilliant even, up until the end… then, well, it wasn't so fine.'

'How so?' inquired Peter.

'She ran off. I kissed her, thought it was the right thing to do, and she ran off. I guess I was wrong.'

'Maybe she got a little scared.'

James turned to look at him again. 'Of what?'

'I dunno.' They sat in silence as the sun disappeared behind the mountains. 'Girls, eh?'

James gave a weak laugh and said, 'Yeah. Come on, let's get back to the castle.'

* * *

Lily ran up to her old dorm in Gryffindor tower and threw herself on her old bed, sobbing into her pillow. _Why? Why would he do that? I hate him!_ The bed creaked as the weight of another person settled beside Lily. The person sighed and started stroking Lily's hair. 

'What happened Lils?' asked Nura, looking down at the sobbing girl.

'It was a trick. He was just pretending to change,' said her friend's muffled voice.

'What?!' cried another voice. Nura looked up to see Alice and Claire standing at the foot of the bed, Alice looking shocked, while Claire looked frighteningly capable of murder. 'That son of a toad, I'll kill him,' spat Claire as she stormed out of the dorm and slammed the door behind her.

'Uh-oh,' said Alice, 'I better go make sure she doesn't earn herself a one-way ticket into Azkaban. You are going to tell me everything later, Lily.' She began, leaving no room for argument, then turning to follow Claire out of the dormitory.

'So what did he do?' asked Nura. Lily looked up at Nura and wiped her eyes.

'Nothing. He didn't do anything. I just know. Why would he do that Nura?'

* * *

Nura sighed again, having not understood a word that had just come from Lily's mouth. 'Okay, go from the start.' 

'Potter, you whore!' James looked up to see Claire stalking towards him, the murderous look still on her face. Alice was hurrying after her. 'How could you do that to her?'

'Huh?' said James, glancing at Peter, who merely shrugged at him.

'You disgust me. If you even think about going near Lily again, you'll wish you were dead.'

'Lily? What happened to her?'

'Don't play dumb with me, Potter.' Claire came to a stop in front of him. 'How could you?'

'What did I do?' James was beginning to feel angry now. 'I need to go see her.' He began to move past Claire when she slapped him.

'Don't even try it. She never wants to see you again,' Claire's voice was dangerously soft and low.

'_STOP'_ shouted Lily's voice. James stopped and despair washed over him. He turned and began walking back the way he'd just come.

'Potter! Don't walk away from me! I'm not done talking to you! POTTER!' Claire withdrew he wand and sent a curse at James' retreating back, but it was deflected by someone other than James, and a stunner was sent back at her, hitting her directly in the chest.

Peter stood with his wand pointed at the unconscious girl, breathing deeply, anger seeping from his skin.

'Take her back to your dorm Alice, and tell her I said that the next time she is cowardly enough to attack one of my friends while his back is turned, she will wish I had done more than stunned her.' Alice nodded, staring wide eyed at the new, much more confident side of Peter. He turned and began to follow James who was walking towards the door.

'I need to get to the bottom of this,' Alice said.


	14. Chapter 14

**This story is dedicated to: Cam, Ella, Lys, Ellen and Nura **

**14**

Claire slowly opened her eyes and groaned, her back and head filled with a dull ache. She felt a soft mattress around her, and her surrounding were familiar, but her mind was feeling too fuzzy to remember why.

'Where am I?' she asked, pulling herself up. Alice came into view, staring at something. At Claire's question, she turned and smiled.

'You're in the dorm, how are you feeling?'

'Sore,' she paused and tried to recollect her thoughts, but the fuzzy feeling hadn't quite lifted. 'What happened?'

'You didn't think before you acted, and consequently did something quite stupid,' said Alice. Claire looked at her in confusion, so she continued. 'You attacked a Marauder in the presence of another. What's worse, you attacked him while his back is turned.'

This was another unwritten law of the school. The last person who had tried this, a 7th year Slytherin who had graduated last year, had sent a potentially lethal severing curse at Remus while he was walking away after given him a detention. He gave Remus a scar, Sirius had given him 3 weeks in the hospital wing, the first of which he was unconscious. Claire winced, she had gotten off lightly.

'Peter asked me to give you a message,' said Alice, turning back to what she was staring at before, a picture of all four Marauders Nura kept on her wall, and falling silent. Claire nudged her, bringing her back to reality, and Alice repeated Peter's message. Claire was surprised at the obvious threat, but pushed it out of her mind.

'Where is Lily?' she asked, falling back onto her bed.

'Nura took her for a walk to calm her down and find out what happened. Knowing Nura, it will probably work.' Claire nodded. Nura had the uncanny ability to know what her friends were feeling or thinking.

'I'm starving,' she muttered, sighing and heaving herself out of the bed. 'Come on, we're going to the kitchens.'

* * *

When they got back to the room, Lily was asleep in her old bed, and Nura was sitting on hers, her eyes closed and breathing deeply. When she felt the bed move under the weight of her two friends, she opened her eyes and half smiled.

'Hey,' she whispered.

'Hey,' replied Alice. 'Did she tell you what happened?' Nura was silent for a moment, before answering.

'She's convinced herself that James pretended to change so she would say yes to him, that it was all a trick.'

'Do we know that it wasn't?' asked Claire sceptically.

Nura scowled at her and snapped, 'He didn't pretend that his sister was murdered!' Claire winced.

'You're right, sorry.'

'No, it's okay,' Nura sighed, falling back onto her pillow, the day's events having tired her out. 'I've known James since he was four, and I know this isn't a trick. What happened this summer changed him, drastically. He was forced to grow up.

'No, Lily is afraid of how quickly her feeling's for him have changed, she doesn't want to fall in love with some whom she hated just a month ago.'

'So, we just have to tell her that,' said Alice. They all turned to look at their sleeping friend. 'The hard part will be convincing her it's true.'

* * *

The next morning, Nura walked down to the Great Hall earlier than usual, finding it mostly empty. To her surprise, she found three of the Marauders sitting in silence, worried expressions on their face. Nura took a seat next to Remus, facing Sirius and Peter.

'Where is James?' she asked, picking up a piece of toast and buttering it.

'Flying,' muttered Sirius, looking up at the enchanted ceiling. It was grey, signalling the approach of a fall storm.

'What did he tell you?' There was no answer for a moment, before Remus answered.

'Nothing, just went to bed. Peter had to tell us what happened.' Nura looked at Peter curiously, and he recounted what James had told him about the date. Nura nodded.

'Yeah, that's what I gathered.' They continued to eat their breakfast in silence, before Lily, Claire and Alice entered the hall. They took seats around Nura, and began eating breakfast. The atmosphere was particularly awkward, almost hostile. Remus sat stiffly in his seat, answering in short words, Peter pretended Claire wasn't there, and Sirius sent a glare at Lily, at one time snarling when she asked how he was. Nura sighed, and put her head in her hands. _This is going to be difficult for a time._

* * *

She was right. That day, with the exception of classes, James walked out of any room that Lily walked into, much to her relief. She couldn't face him. He also began Quidditch practice that night, and kept the team out for four hours, only stopping when April Roahds, a beater, pointed out that they were flying in a storm. He dismissed the team, and walked with Nura to the Head's common room.

Lily was reading on the couch when James walked into the room, dripping wet, and straight to his room. Nura walked in after him and fell onto the couch beside Lily, peeling of her chaser's gloved and closing her eyes in relief.

'Tough practice?' asked Lily. Nura just grunted. 'I'll take that as a yes.'

'He didn't even realise that it was raining. We only stopped when April shouted that Alice had nearly been struck by lightning.'

'I'm not surprised with that thick head of his,' Lily muttered. Nura opened her eyes and glanced at her.

'Lily...'

'What? He deserves it after what he did!' she snapped. Nura sat up, annoyance flashing across her face.

'I didn't do anything, so don't get sharp with me. And James is my friend, you know how I feel about you talking about him like that around me.' Lily's shoulders slumped.

'I know, and I'm sorry. I just want to know why he would do something like that Nura! I really did like him.'

'I know,' Nura whispered to herself.

* * *

**A/N:** Sorry it took so long, but here you go. Enjoy. Please **review**.

I have lost a fan fiction I _really, really, really _liked and _really, really, really_ want to read it again, but I can't remember its name or much about it, but this is what I can remember:

1. It's and Lily/James fic (obviously)

2. One of Lily's best friends is one of the top students. She's an empath (of sorts)ies to limit the people she gets close to, and has an arranged marriage. She's very quiet, and is good at not being noticed, so much that no one sees her but Lily, her friends, her fiancé, and James, who sees her in yr 7. She's not on the Marauder's Map. She helps James earn Lily's friendship, then love.

3. One of Lily's other friends is odd. Like, really quite odd, I remember her turning her eyes or hair silver. Sirius falls in love with her, and her with him, but it's a bit rocky. I _think_ her name starts with 'J'.

If anyone knows of this story (sorry its a bit vague), or can help me, please, I would really appreciate it.

Thankyou,

Josh


	15. Chapter 15

**This story is dedicated to: **Cam, Ella, Lys, Ellen and Nura, 3 of whom I haven't spoken to of late, but I hope to catch up with.

Apologies for the extremely long delay, this chapter was forgotten about in the mess labelled 'My Documents'.

**15**

Nura looked out her window at the rising sun. The two weeks after the Hogsmeade weekend had been hard on her, being best friends with two enemies. Lily had gone back to hating James with every fibre of her being, and James was avoiding Lily at all costs. To top it all off, the weather had suddenly dropped, covering the ground in frost, and the first Quidditch match of the season was today, Gryffindor against Hufflepuff.

In an effort to get out of the castle, James held Quidditch training every night, was quick to annoy, and deaf to his team's complaints. Only when the team's beater April Rhoads, who was also the youngest member of the team, burst into tears from the stress did James soften up, and shortened the time they practiced.

Yawning, Nura pulled herself out of bed, and stumbled into the bathroom, getting ready for the day ahead.

'Hey,' mumbled Alice and April as Nura collapsed onto the bench across from them. She moaned tiredly in reply and rested her head on the table. Only the Quidditch team were sitting at the Gryffindor table. James, Alice, who were Chasers, along with Rachel Pham, a slender 5th year with long black hair confined into a plait. The two Beaters, April and Sirius. Henry Higgleby, a 6th year who played as Keeper and seemed to be the only on awake, and herself, the Seeker.

Ten minutes later James led them towards the change rooms. When they had sat down he began to pace in front of them. The sounds of the stadium filling up could be easily heard. After a moment, he stilled, looked over all of them and spoke.

'Let's flog them!' The team voiced their approval, grabbed their brooms, and marched out onto the ground.

'Captains, shake hands,' commanded Madam Noble. James and Simon Swann, a broad shouldered 7th year, stepped forward and clasped hands, then fell back in line with their respective teams. 'I expect a clean game. Players, mount your brooms! Three… Two… One… Begin!'

The fourteen players launched into the air, ducking and weaving. James grabbed the Quaffle and shot towards the goalposts where Simon hovered. As he neared the post, a yellow player dove from above, forcing him to roll and drop the Quaffle. Spinning around, he gave chase.

A commentary was audible throughout the whole stadium. 'And Noakes has the Quaffle, passes to Jones, who is hit by a Bludger aimed beautifully by Roahds,' The Hufflepuff's groaned. 'She recovers but drops the Quaffle, which is picked up by Pham, who passes to Abbott, back to Pham… back to Abbott again, dodges Smith. Is that rain folks? It is, looks like a storm is coming in,' big, fat raindrops began to fall, slowly at first, but soon it was pelting down. 'Abbott is boxed in by Noakes and Jones, but she fly's up! Noakes gives chase, Jones is hit by a second Bludger, this one from Black.'

The rain was hammering down, and thunder rumbled through the sky. Lighting flashed and lit up the sky just in time to see Alice throw the Quaffle straight down.

James flew under her just in time to catch the ball as it fell. With only Simon between him and the goalposts, and visibility rapidly still deteriorating, James leaned forward on his broom, feigned left, then threw the Quaffle through the centre hoop, Simon missing it by an inch.

The Gryffindor's roared! 'GO GO GRYFFINDOR! GO GO GRYFFINDOR!'

James spun on his broom and took a quick glance around for Nura, spotting her racing for the ground. Her arm was outstretched, and she was leading the Hufflepuff Seeker by a whole broom-length. Excitement seemed to crackle through the air as everyone stopped to watch the two players race for the tiny golden ball.

Everyone but Sirius.

He was flying as fast as he could behind the Seekers, trying to catch up. James looked around wildly, then saw why, and instantly lay flat on his broom, aiming for the two, knowing he wouldn't make it. And in a horrible slow motion, he saw Nura's hand reach for the Snitch as a Bludger hammered into her side. She was knocked from her broom, flying sideways for a few seconds before plummeting twenty feet to the soaked ground.

Silence filled the stadium as James and Sirius landed a few feet away and ran towards the muddy girl. When they reached her she groaned and tried to sit up, gasping in pain when she did so. James reached a glowing hand for the broken rib, but she pushed him away.

'Don't you dare,' she said sternly. Then she grinned and held up her hand, showing the Snitch fluttering in her grip.

The stadium erupted. 'GRYFFINDOR! GRYFFINDOR! GRIFFINDOR!'

* * *

The Marauders was standing around the Hospital Wing bed that Nura lay on, James and Sirius still in their red and gold Quidditch uniforms. Madam Dray, a middle aged witch with her blonde ringlets tied messily into a bun, was looking through the glasses balanced halfway down her nose at the potion she was pouring, glancing sharply over the top of their wire frames whenever someone was too loud.

'Nunu, I know I said to win, but I didn't want you to kill yourself in the process,' said James jokingly, earning himself a withering glare from the girl. He just grinned.

'What can I say? I'm dedicated.' As she spoke, the door burst open and Lily, Claire and Alice marched over to her bed, oblivious to the Marauders.

'What on earth do you think you're playing at?' demanded Lily. 'You could have boken your neck! You could have _died_!'

'Miss Evans, please keep your voice down or I shall have to remove you from this room. Now, Miss Sheidaee, drink this please,' instructed Madam Dray, handing her a steaming goblet. After Nura drunk the scalding liquid, she noticed James had left. She looked around just in time to see the door click shut.

* * *

**Please review**


	16. Chapter 16

**16**

The quick victory over Hufflepuff put James in a good mood, enough so that the next day he told the Gryffindor quidditch team to take a week off. A chorus of relieved sighs followed the announcement.

"Besides," he continued, ignoring them, "we can't really practice with our only seeker in the hospital wing."

"How is she?" asked April, looking concerned.

"She's fine. There was no concussion, and Madam Dray healed the bone in moments. She wants to keep Nura on bed rest for another night, just to make sure, you know how she is." Sirius grinned at that, as he had been in the care of Madam Dray more times than any one else in Gryffindor, due to many fights with Slytherins.

"Ok, I know your itching to get out of here," he waved his hand around, motioning that he meant the red and gold change room they were sitting in, "so I won't keep you any longer. Enjoy the rest of your weekend." There was a few moments of noise as everyone got up to leave, until the last two people (Rachel and Alice) walked out the door, leaving only Sirius and James.

"Gonna help me tidy up, Padfoot?" asked James, picking a keeper's glove up from off a bench and placing it in Henry's locker. Sirius snorted, and James rolled his eyes, knowing the answer.

"Not a chance, Prongs, not a chance in the world. This is punishment for you deciding to betray the Maraudering ways and-"

"-And getting myself a position of responsibility," continued James after interrupting his friend. They both walked out of the change room, and James turned to lock the door. "Yes, yes, I know Padfoot."

"Ah, but do you know Prongs, do you really?" He began to wander lazily towards the castle, hands in pockets, head upturned towards the sky. James jogged a few steps to fall in step next to him, and grinned. They'd had this conversation many times this year already. "You have not only gone and gotten yourself a position of responsibility, but you have gone and gotten yourself _two_ positions of responsibility. A deed that is quite shameful for any self-respecting student, let alone a Marauder."

James chuckled. "How many times must I apologise for cruelly betraying you all before you forgive me and drop this?"

"Why, Prongs, I don't think I can ever drop this," came the reply, followed by a sad head shake.

The two continued their slow pace towards the castle, the frost covered grass crunching beneath their feet. The bad weather from game day had continued through the night, and despite it being only early autumn, the temperature had dropped drastically. Grey clouds were dragged through the sky by a bitter wind, and cold mist lay all across the grounds, sinking into their skin. James shivered and pulled his cloak tighter around him. He hated the cold.

"Miserable weather, ey?" commented Sirius, noticing the shiver. He was never really bothered by the temperature, but he knew his friend couldn't boast the same trait.

"I'll say. I swear, winter comes earlier every bloody year. Merlin, if it gets any colder, my bits will drop off." Sirius laughed at this.

"Then we won't be able to call you 'Prongs' anymore," he said with a grin. Then he sobered up as he looked ahead of them. "Speaking of cold." James followed his gaze, and saw a head of red hair. It was Lily meeting Alice at the castle steps. James slowed to a stop, an uncomfortable expression crossing his face.

Sirius growled in annoyance, then grabbed James' cloak and dragged him in a different direction. "Come on," he said gruffly, "let's go visit Hagrid."

* * *

On Monday morning, Lily woke up twenty minutes before she had to, much to her displeasure. She knew that if she went back to sleep now, she would over sleep and be late for classes. Groaning, she rolled onto her back and stared at the canopy of her bed. It was white silk, with gold trimmings and tassels. Her mind ran over many topics, such as NEWTs, patrol duty, the Halloween ball, school assignments, and Alice's upcoming birthday, before it settled on James.

She had been refusing to allow herself to think about him since the Hogsmeade weekend, but now her mind would not budge. She felt hurt and confused, angry at him. A little, logical voice told her that he had done nothing to her, but was unheard, smothered by her emotions. Stubbornly, she pushed the thoughts away and rolled out of bed.

After getting dressed and running a brush through her hair, she began to make her way down to the Great Hall, before stopping and looking at her watch. She was earlier than usual, so she turned and instead headed for the hospital wing.

"Morning Nura," she said, finding her friend sitting up in the bed. Nura was a morning person, usually waking before everyone else in her dorm room. Nura turned to face her friend and smiled.

"Hey Lily, what are you doing here so early?" Lily shrugged and sat down on the edge of the bed.

"Just had some extra time and decided to come see my best friend. When are you getting out of here?"

"As soon as _she_," Nura tilted her head in the direction of Madam Dray's office, "gives me the all clear. So that means not for another month or two. Honestly, I feel fine, but she's making me stay until lunchtime. Does she not realise that I'll go crazy from boredom?"

Lily giggled and patted her friend on the knee. "You'll be fine. You've survived Sirius all these years, and you're still sane. Mostly." She avoided the arm swung at her. They talked for a few minutes, before Lily once again glanced at her watch.

"I have to go to breakfast, but I'll see you soon."

Nura nodded, and gave Lily a hug. Then, giving her hair a quick tug, she said "And that's for questioning my sanity."

Laughing, Lily walked out of the hospital wing and made her way down to the Great Hall. It was only just beginning to fill with students, and the sounds of chatter and cutlery hitting plates echoed through the air.

Looking across the sea of heads, she found Claire, Alice and Frank sitting at the Gryffindor table. Alice and Frank were talking to each other, smiling and laughing, and Claire was looking at the enchanted ceiling, a disappointed frown on her face.

"What's wrong, Claire?" asked Lily as she sat down and took a piece of toast. Jumping in surprise, Claire came out of her reverie and shook her head before answering.

"Well, I was hoping, since it has been so cold recently, that it might snow today." Returning her gaze to the ceiling and frowning once again, she added; "No such luck."

Lily talked idly with Claire, and read her Daily Prophet when it arrived until breakfast was nearly over. Just as she was getting ready to leave, she saw James wander tiredly into the Great Hall and head for the Gryffindor table.

_Why is he so tired?_ she thought to herself. _He went to bed well before I did last night, must have slept for nearly ten hours, and here he is looking as though he hasn't slept for days._

As he passed, Lily could have sworn that she saw something odd about his eyes, but pushed it out of her mind, telling herself that whatever was happening with Ja- _Potter_ was not her problem.

* * *

Class passed fairly quickly for Lily, nothing out of the ordinary happening except for James dozing off briefly in potions and being woken quickly by a quick kick from Sirius. Luckily for him, Professor Slughorn didn't notice anything, or else Gryffindor would have surely lost some points.

When Nura appeared at the table for lunch, she got a round of welcome backs and a couple of hugs. Smiling, she rolled her eyes.

"You'd think I'd been gone for weeks instead of two days, the way you lot carry on." Despite this, the smile lingered for a while. It only disappeared when James sat down opposite her, and then it was replaced by concern. "James, are you feeling okay?"

James nodded, and buried his head in his folded arms that rested on the table. "Just tired," came his mumbled reply. Nura pursed her lips, clearly not believing him, but deciding not to push the matter, he would only get annoyed that way. Instead, she gave Lily a look that said she wanted to talk to her later.

When they left the hall, Lily pulled Nura aside and raised a questioning eyebrow. Looking apologetic, Nura spoke.

"Lily, I know that you're not going to like this, but could you please keep an eye on James for me, just for the rest of the day?" Lily started to protest, but Nura quietened her and continued. "I know, I know, but unlike you I don't have any classes with him this afternoon, and I'm worried. He didn't look very well. I wouldn't ask otherwise. Please Lily?" There was silence. "Please?"

Exasperated, Lily relented. "Alright, fine, I'll keep an eye on him. But I'm doing this for you, not for him." Nura nodded, and gave her friend a quick hug before running off to her next class.

When Lily slid into her seat in the Transfiguration classroom, she gave James a quick glance, before doing a double take and looking at him again, closer. She could have sworn she saw his eyes change colour. They looked normal, so with a shrug she opened her textbook to the right page and began reading.

* * *

After the last class, Lily walked back to the head dorm and into the joint bathroom. Quickly, she turned on the tap, stripped off her cloths, and stepped under the hot water. As the water began to relax her, she thought back over the day, and more specifically, James. She had seen the eye thing several times, each time more prominent, until Lily was convinced it wasn't just her imagination.

Sighing, she stepped out of the shower, dried herself off, and began to get dressed. She'd tell Nura about it next time she saw her. Until then, there wasn't much she could do. Just as she had finished pulling on her last article of clothing, a light blue shirt, James stumbled into the bathroom from the door that joined it to his bedroom.

"What do you think you're doing, Potter?! Have you heard of knocking? I can't believe you would just walk in here, I might have been naked!" Lily shouted. She glared at him before her eyebrows knitted in confusion. "Potter, are you okay?"

She saw his eyes change colour again, but then realised that is not what had been happening all day. Instead, a blue glow filled them, almost overriding the hazel eyes completely. _His healing magic_, she realised. He swayed on his feet, apparently having not heard her, and staring at her as though he couldn't quite see her.

Lily took a few steps towards him, reaching out to help him stop swaying, when his eyes flash brightly before rolling up in his head. Quickly she lunged forward as he collapsed, and was able to catch him before he hit the ground.

"Potter? Potter?" He didn't respond, and Lily began to panic. "Potter! James! Wake up, James! Come on, wake up!" When he didn't move, she raced down to the common room and out the portrait, spinning and coming face to face with the white maiden that guarded their rooms.

"Quick," she panted. "Tell Dumbledore that James collapsed and I can't wake him up. Hurry!" she added when the maiden simply widened her eyes in alarm. Nodding, the maiden disappeared from her portrait.

Lily climbed back through the hole behind the portrait and back up to James. Lifting his arm over her shoulder, she grunted as she pulled herself to her feet, and began to carry him downstairs. When she had made it out into the corridor, she began to make her way slowly towards the hospital wing. After about five minutes, she head footsteps running towards her.

Professor Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall and Madam Dray quickly reached Lily and relieved her of the larger boy's weight. Conjuring a stretcher and placing James on it, Madam Dray levitated him quickly towards the hospital wing.

When they turned a corner and vanished from sight, Dumbledore turned to her and said; "I think we should talk in my office."

* * *

After Lily had told Dumbledore what had happened, he sat back in his chair, placed his fingertips together, and sat silently. After several minutes, Lily began to fidget, until a question burst from her mouth.

"What happened to him?" Immediately she covered her mouth with her own hand, shocked by her own bluntness. She began to apologise, but Dumbledore waved that away.

"Put simply, he wore himself out." When he saw her puzzled face, he continued. "I feel I should explain. In our society, there are families that have had magic in them for many generations. I'm not talking about having grandparents and great-grandparents that are wizards or witches, but rather the families who have had magic for hundreds of generations. These families are referred to as the Pure-Blood families, and include the Potters, the Blacks, the Weasleys, et cetera.

Some, if not most, of these families have their own special gift. People say that the magic has become part of their blood, hence the term, although the real reason is not known. I personally believe that everyone has their own gifts, locked, but the extensive use of magic by these families for so long has enabled them access to these abilities, but I digress."

"What is James' gift?" asked Lily in awe.

"The Potters ability is one that enables them to heal themselves, and others if the wielder is particularly powerful," answered Dumbledore. "However, the healing of themselves is involuntary and cannot be controlled, which makes this wonderful gift very dangerous, as the magic is tied to the persons life. In other words, if the person uses too much, it begins to drain their life, and can kill them.

Mr. Potter must have been using quite a bit of magic if it caused him to collapse. As I seriously doubt he sustained serious injury, my guess is that he was sick, possibly with the flu. His body would have been continuously burning magic."

"I did see his eyes change colour a few times today, but I thought it was just a trick of the light…" Lily looked down guiltily.

"Miss Evans, this is not your fault. You cannot blame yourself for something you had no way of knowing about. Most of the families with these gifts try to keep them secret, each for their own reasons." Lily nodded. "Now, dinner will be starting soon, so I believe you should go and have something to eat, it has been quite a day."

Lily got up to leave, and just as she reached the door, Dumbledore called out to her again.

"Oh, and Miss Evans? Can I trust you to keep this quiet, I believe Mr. Potter wouldn't want the entire school to know what happened."

"Sure thing, Professor. Good evening." She closed the door behind her, and made her way to the Great Hall, suddenly feeling very tired.

_I guess it _has_ been a long day_, she thought.

* * *

**A/N:** Ok, first up, I am so sorry for letting this story just... stop... I guess I just lost interest, which I realise isn't fair to you all (if any of you still read it), especially since I gave no warning or explanation. So, once again, I'm so sorry!

Anyway, I re-read it (because I had forgotten so much S) and there is so much that I want to change. So when I have some spare time, I'm going to re-write the first 15 chapters. Most of the ideas will be the same, as I like them (or else I would not have put them in the first place), it just going to be longer, and hopefully, better written. Also, I feel that Lily fell for James waaaaaaaaay too quick, after hating him for so long. So that will change.

Anyway, if you feel I still deserve it, please **review**. I don't know when the next chapter will be up, or the new old chapters for that matter, but it shouldn't be too long.

Once last sorry, and a thank you to anyone who stuck with me.

Shbenj


	17. Chapter 17 - updates

**Hey all,**

I'm completely re-writing this story. It's been years, and I went back and read it, and although I don't hate what I wrote, it needs a lot of work. Also hopefully finishing.

First chapter is done, and I'll post it on here, once it's been checked over for mistakes and such, as a new chapter, but then I'll be putting it up as a new story. I'll post a link for any interested.

Thanks for reading,

Shbenj (previously TheMoony)


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: Sorry for starting off with an Author's Note, but I just need to say a few things. Firstly, welcome back to any of you who ready the previous incarnation of this story, I'm hoping this one will be a lot better. Secondly, this chapter is as of yet unedited/beta'd. Once it has been (it currently is being), I will re-upload it, so please bare with me. At the same time, feel free to point out any mistakes I've made (it's been a long time since I've written anything). Lastly, the link for the new story is posted just below (and at the bottom of this page), and all new chapters will be posted to that one. So, without further ado...**

** s/9695012/1/Vita-Mutationes-Life-Changes**

* * *

This story remains dedicated to my friend Cam for the support she offered in both this retelling and the original,

my friend and beta Crystal for (currently in the process of) fixing my many mistakes in both this retelling and the original,

my friend Nura for allowing me to use her name and likeness in both this retelling and the original (even though I don't think she's actually aware of it),

and is newly dedicated to my fiancée Bronwyn, for supporting me in all I do.

* * *

**Life Changes**

**Chapter 1**

_"It takes a lot of courage to grow up and become who you really are" - E E Cummings_

_"When we were children, we used to think that when we were grown-up we would no longer be vulnerable. But to grow up is to accept vulnerability... To be alive is to be vulnerable." -Madeleine L'Engle_

Wind rushed by him as he soared, tearing through his hair and screaming past his ears. Around him flashed streaks of colour, scarlet and blue, unfocused due to the shattered glasses that hung off his face. The bludger which had smashed his lenses was also responsible for the blood streaming freely from his nose.

Dodging another two blue blurs, James Potter angled his broom upwards to where he knew the goal hoops to be and pressed himself flat against his broomstick, urging as much speed as he could from his prized possession. In the back of his mind he registered the games commentary.

"Sheidaee and Longbottom are neck and neck, and it looks like the game will be decided by the snitch. Ravenclaw with an impressive lead, the Gryffindors need this snitch to tie, or face their biggest loss in recent memory!"

5th year Hufflepuff Gregory Abbott's voice was nearly drowned out by the differing cries of the spectators around the pitch; desperation from the Gryffindors, elation from the Ravenclaws, enthusiasm from the Hufflepuffs and jeers from the Slytherins.

James pushed as much of the noise out of his mind as he could and focussed his attention back to the goals. One of their beaters Terrance McMillan, a 7th year with more ego than brains, had gotten himself knocked out five minutes into the game and the Gryffindor team had been taken a savage beating for the rest of the game, both on the scoreboard and on the pitch. Now the goals were in sight, the quaffle in his hands, and James was determined to finish the season with a win.

"Both seekers are inches away from the snitch! Sheidaee is just in front! The crowd is going crazy, and it looks like we are set for a draw for the last game of the – WAIT, LOOK AT POTTER! I DON'T BELIEVE IT!"

At that moment, the Ravenclaw keeper had swerved in front of James, and with no time to swerve, dodge, or even think, he did the first thing that came to his mind. Later he would wonder just how hard that bludger had hit his head to make him do what he did.

He jumped.

"POTTER HAS JUMPED OFF HIS BROOM! Off his broom and right over keeper Boot! He throws the quaffle..." Almost in slow motion James watched the red ball fly through the air. "HE SCORES! Just as Sheidaee catches the snitch, Potter scores by jumping from his broom at 50 feet. GRYFFINDOR WIN!"

James was laughing and hanging off the very same goal hoop he had put the quaffle through, trying to pull himself up. A blue blue hovered in front of him, her voice revealing it was Susan Boot, the keeper.

"Potter, you are completely insane. Wait, here." She grabbed his wrist and pulled him up so he was sitting in the ring. "Honestly, completely nuts! What were you thinking?"

James laughed again and tried to wipe the blood off his face. "I wasn't! I just wanted to score. I reckon I'm going to cop it from McGonagall for that though." He rubbed his hands over his nose, which had stopped bleeding, knowing he's have to push it back into its proper shape for it to heal properly.

"I'd be more worried about copping it from Sheidaee if I were you, because here she comes. Now, hold still. _Episkey._" James swore as the cartilage set itself. "That's for making me lose my last quidditch match at Hogwarts," she said lightly. Then she too laughed and held out her hand. "Thank you for making it a memorable one."

As James shook her hand, Sirius' voice boomed out towards them. "Prongs, mate, that was incredible." He was flying up to them, carrying James' broomstick in his spare hand.

"Don't you dare encourage him, Sirius!" said Nura Sheidaee, pale with shock. "How could you do something so stupid James? What were you thinking?"

"He wasn't," said Sirius and Susan, just as James opened his mouth to admit to the same thing. The three of them looked at each other and laughed as Nura shook her head in disbelief.

"You might want to take him to the hospital wing to make sure his nose is alright," continued Susan. "While your there, you should get his head checked out too."

"Come on Prongs, lets go down and meet your adoring fans." Around the pitch Gryffindors has gathered to cheer on their team. And in the middle of the crows was a furious McGonagall. "on second thought, it might be safer up here."

* * *

The Gryffindor common room was almost shaking with the sound of the celebration taking place within it, and the quidditch team were in the midst of it. After the third straight hour of having his back slapped and hand shook, James was beginning to feel claustrophobic. Sending a look to Sirius (which was received with a small nod) he thanked the people around him still offering their congratulations and surreptitiously raised his hands to cover his ears.

Several loud cracks echoed throughout the common room, followed by shrieks and then laughter as Sirius let of the bunch of Filllibusters fireworks he always seemed to have in his pocket. Using the distraction, James slipped from the common room and out onto the balcony, enjoying the feel of the cool evening breeze blowing gently against his face.

Leaning against the railing and breathing deeply, he sighed and emptied his mind, focussing on the scents he could smell on the air. The old stone of the castle, embedded with another smell he couldn't describe, but knew to be the magic that had filled the walls throughout the ages. The air itself smelt fresh and thick, laden with the promise of rain soon. The deep smell of earth and wood from the forest, which made his heart yearn to run in stag form. And then something floral, a scent he could recognise even in his dreams.

"Alright there, Evans?" he spoke, somewhat hesitantly. James hadn't spoken much to Lily throughout the school year, preferring to avoid her and the painful lurch in his stomach that accompanied her. The few times they had spoken, he'd made a point to keep the conversation light hearted and shallow. He thought it was the best way to avoid arguments, after all what could they fight about if they spoke of practically nothing of all? It had worked to varying degrees of success.

"Potter, what are you doing out here?" came the reply from the bench behind him. Her tone was short, mingled with a bit of surprise at seeing him. He sighed internally, his shoulders unconsciously dropping a little. Lily Evans hated surprises, especially when it came to him. He had a silly thought that he could also smell a fight brewing.

"Just getting some fresh air," he muttered. Thinking about leaving before anything else could be said, he ruffled the hair on the back of his nervously before stopping and giving a small wince. For some reason that particular habit of his always seemed to annoy her, and an irritated huff told him he war right.

"Couldn't leave well enough alone, could you?" he heard her mutter under her breath. It was apparent she didn't expect him to hear her, most students wouldn't have, but being an animagus had a lot of advantages.

"Excuse me? What was well enough?" He turned to face her. The look of surprise on her face was quickly replaced with the irritation he was so used to.

The games. A draw. Anyone would agree the drawing with the top team whilst down a player is a pretty impressive feat. But that's not good enough for James Potter. Not enough glory in a draw. So you have to jump off your broomstick, put your life in danger, for a bit of adoration." She jerked her head at the door back to the common room, where the celebration was still easily audible.

"Glory?" he asked, irritated as well now. "You think I did it for glory?"

"Of course you did it for glory. You can't live without being the centre of attention. Why else would you jump off a broom to win a match that made no difference? Ravenclaw still win the cup"

"I didn't even win the match," he cried, throwing his hands up in the air, "Nura did, she caught the snitch!"

"And yet you get all the credit. How do you think that makes her feel?"

"She doesn't care!"

"What would you know?" snorted Lily.

"A lot more than you, since I've known her since I was five years old," said James viciously. He was getting really angry now. How dare she try to tell him his reasoning behind his actions. He didn't know them himself, not really, but he knew her accusations were wrong. "Nura knows I didn't do it for glory. She actually knows me, unlike you, who just wants to assume the worst of me."

"Why did you do it then?"

"Merlin, I don't know! I just did! Do you _really _think that if I had thought it through, I would have done it? I'm not a moron."

"Not a moron? HA! Says the guy who jumped off a flying broom, and blames it on not thinking! But that's just like you, isn't it Potter? Acting without thinking, Such a big head, and no brains to fill it. Once you leave school you might actually have to think once in a while, you know that? Next year is our last year at Hogwarts and then we'll be out there. Do you even understand what's happening out there in the real world? How can you take nothing seriously when-"

At that James exploded, cutting her off. "I know damn well what's happening out there, Evans!" He roared, eyes flashing his rage. "I know the danger, the fear, the death! I know what's going on, I know it's waiting for us, and it scares the fuck out of me!" He paused, panting, and lowered his voice, fists clenched in an effort to control himself. "That's why I can't- no, won't take our life here too seriously. There are our very last moments of carefree fun, and I am determined to enjoy them, and to help the people around me enjoy them too. Because someday, soon, that danger is going to be a constant factor in our lives."

They both remained silent for a bit, then Lily got to her feet and headed towards the door. Just before stepping inside, she paused. The commotion from inside nearly obscured her quiet voice. "You need to grow up Potter." The door clicked shut behind her, and the noise became muffled again.

He sighed for what felt like the millionth time that night, turned back to the railing and closed his eyes. Breathing deeply, he tried to clear his mind again, but the floral scent lingered and teased him. Another burst of noise told him that the door had opened and shut again, and he felt the presence of someone else step up beside him.

"She's right, you know," said Nura Sheidaee's soft voice. He didn't ask her how she knew what he and Lily had been discussing, some how Nura had always just know what he was feeling. "You are going to have to grow up someday."

"I know. And something tells me it will be some day soon too. Something bad is coming Nura... So, yeah, I know..." he paused, enjoying the quiet for a moment longer, then pulled a grin onto his face. "But not yet, Nunu." He laughed at the face she pulled at his childhood nickname for her, and nudged her. "Shall we go back inside?"

Nura nodded, and together they returned to the party.

* * *

"So you'll be staying- ugh!- over for the last week of the- euurgh!- holidays then? Promise?" Nura rolled her eyes and hid her smile as she watched Lily try to pull her trunk down from the overhead storage and maintain a conversation at the same time. The Hogwarts Express had just pulled into King's Cross station, and chaos had taken over the train as all the students on board were trying to disembark at the same time, eager to start their holidays.

"Yes, I'll come over with Claire and Alice," said Nura, referencing their two friends who had already managed to get off the train. Both had been missing their families, as they had stayed at Hogwarts over the Christmas holidays, so Nura had told them to go while she waited with Lily. Stepping aside as the trunk crashed to the ground, she continued, "I've already settled it with my parents, you don't need to worry."

"Ok, ok, I'll stop worrying. I just miss you all over summer, it will be nice to see you." Together the girls made their way off the train and over to the spot where the Evan's family was standing. Warmly they welcomed both girls, and asked about their time at school. They were chatting about classes when a voice shouted across the station.

"Nura, come on! Let's go!" It was Sirius, who was standing with James, his parents, and her father. The adults were talking to each other as James listened, leaving Sirius standing there pouting, obviously bored.

Nura registered the odd look on Lily's face as she looked over at the two boys. James had not spoken to her in over a month since their argument after the quidditch match, and Nura knew her friend was torn between feeling relief, irritation, regret and a bit of guilt. Her father Richard didn't notice his daughters reaction though, and he laughed aloud at the call.

"It sounds as though we are keeping you," he said, grinning at Nura. "And we'd best be off as well. I trust we'll be seeing you Lily's birthday then?" Nura smiled and nodded, nudging Lily to bring her attention back to her immediate surroundings.

"Yes, thank you Mr. and Mrs. Evans. I'm looking forward too it."

"Now Nura dear, how many times do we have to tell you to call us Richard and Bron?" said Lily's mother, her eyes still flicking between her daughter and James across the station curiously. She had noticed Lily's reaction as well. "Have a good summer, we'll see you soon."

"Bye Nura!" said Lily, hugging her friend. As their family left, Nura made her way over to where her father, Sirius and the Potter's were standing, where she hugged her father, then Harold and Gwyneth Potter in turn.

"About time," said Sirius. She poked him, and James laughed. "Come over and play quidditch tomorrow? Deidre misses you." Deidre was James' younger sister.

"I will, as soon as I unpack. And I'll see her tonight. At dinner?" She prompted, seeing the boys confused expressions. The first night they returned from school, ever since first year, their families would have dinner together and catch up on the years activities.

"Oh yeah... Excellent, I'm starving!" exclaimed Sirius.

"Good to hear, because Seruh has been cooking all afternoon," said Gwyneth. Seruh was Nura's mother, and a brilliant cook. "Come on, we should all be helping her." Together their families left the platform, and said their goodbyes.

"See you tonight," said Nura to her oldest friend. He smiled and waved, but his eyes flicked away for a second. As Nura left the station, the last thing she saw was James watching a girl with long red hair climb into a car with her parents. And inwardly, she both sighed and smiled to herself and the feeling that was radiating off him.

* * *

**So that is the currently unbeta'd chapter 1. Please follow the link to the new story to review, tell me what you really think, honest opinions are very welcome,**

**Shbenj~**

** s/9695012/1/Vita-Mutationes-Life-Changes**


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